Introduction

The object of the present invention is a partially disordered lithium-rich transition metal oxide material with a lower cobalt content than current commercial cathode materials replaced with the less toxic and cheaper cobalt. The materials included in this new family of oxides show a layered structure and consist of particles of spherical shape and sub-micrometric dimensions.

Technical features

Transition and non-transition metal oxide-based material rich in lithium for use as an active part in positive electrodes for lithium-ion aprotic batteries, having a partially disordered crystalline structure, organized in two-dimensional layers and controlled sub-micrometric morphology. The material, obtained by so-called aqueous sol-gel synthesis, shows a smaller amount of cobalt than the existing lithium-rich materials used for the same purpose and, at the same time, guarantees high performance in terms of specific capacity, stability in cycles and rate capability. The proposed materials can exchange about 200 mAh / g in lithium battery for 200 cycles using a current of 40 mA / g (C / 10) in a potential range of 2-4.8V. The discharge capacity is approximately 120mAh / g at 1C (754mA / g) with a 70% capacity retention at 500 cycle. The partially disordered lithium-rich materials with layered structures that are the subject of the present invention show, compared to the state of the commercial art of electropositive materials for Li-ion batteries, a set of competitive advantages.

Possible Applications

• As electroactive components in positive electrodes for new generation lithium-ion and lithium-metal aprotic batteries;
• Elementary cells contained in battery packs for electric or hybrid vehicles;
• High capacity batteries for stationary energy storage (industrial and domestic).

Advantages

• Lower cobalt content (expensive, toxic metal and included in the EU’s list of critical raw materials);
• Excellent battery performance in terms of specific capacity;
• Cycling stability and rate-capability;
• Aqueous sol-gel synthesis method that does not require the use of solvents (green chemistry route).