Fabrication and electrochemical performance of 0.6Li2MnO3-0.4Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 microspheres by two-step spray-drying process

0.6Li2MnO3-0.4Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 composite microspheres with dense structures are prepared by a two-step spray-drying process. Precursor powders with hollow and porous structures prepared by the spray-drying process are post-treated at a low temperature of 400 °C and then wet-milled to obtain a slurry with high stability. The slurry of the mixture of metal oxides is spray-dried to prepare precursor aggregate powders several microns in size. Post-treatment of these powders at high temperatures (>700 °C) produces 0.6Li2MnO3-0.4 Li(Ni1/3 Co1/3 Mn1/3)O2 composite microspheres with dense structures and high crystallinity. The mean size and geometric standard deviation of the composite microspheres post-treated at 900 °C are 4 μm and 1.38, respectively. Further, the initial charge capacities of the aggregated microspheres post-treated at 700, 800, 900, and 1000 °C are 336, 349, 383, and 128 mA h g(-1), respectively, and the corresponding discharge capacities are 286, 280, 302, and 77 mA h g(-1), respectively. The discharge capacity of the composite microspheres post-treated at an optimum temperature of 900 °C after 100 cycles is 242 mA h g(-1), and the corresponding capacity retention is 80%.