Synthesis and Characterization of Cathode Materials for the Lithium Secondary Batteries by Spray Drying Method

It has been known that the synthesis of the cathode materials for the lithium rechargeable batteries by the sol-gel process has many advantages over the conventional solid-state method. It has been, however, a continuing issue that new additional steps should be introduced to commercialize this process. In this work, spray drying was introduced to the existing sol-gel process as a continuous mass production method of the pre-heat treatment precursor materials. The precursors of $LiCoO_2$ and $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2$ were continuously produced through spray drying from the solution containing stoichiometric amount of lithium, cobalt, and nickel sources as well as a chelating agent. The process variables, such as pH of the starting solution, spray drying conditions, and calcination conditions were optimized. The XRD pattern for the synthesized material indicated a good crystallinity with a layered structure.