Temperature-Controlled Synthesis of Li- and Mn-Rich Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2) Hollow Nano/Sub-Microsphere Electrodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery

[Image: see text] The calcination temperature plays a significant role in the structural, textural, and energy-storage performance of metal oxide nanomaterials in Li-ion battery application. Here, we report the formation of well-crystallized homogeneously dispersed Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2) hollow nano/sub-microsphere architectures through a simple cost-effective coprecipitation and chemical mixing route without surface modification for improving the efficiency of energy storage devices. The synthesized Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2) hollow nano/sub-microsphere cathode materials are calcined at 800, 900, 950, and 1000 °C. Among them, Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2) calcined at 950 °C exhibits a high discharge capacity (277 mAh g(–1) at 0.1C rate) and excellent capacity retention (88%) after 50 cycles and also delivers an excellent discharge capacity of >172 mAh g(–1) at 5C rate. Good electrochemical performance of Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2)-950 is directly related to the optimized size of its primary particles (85 nm) (which constitute the spherical secondary particle, ∼720 nm) and homogeneous cation mixing. Higher calcination temperature (≥950 °C) leads to an increase of the primary particle size, poor cycling stability, and inferior rate capacity of Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2) due to smashing of quasi-hollow spheres upon repeated lithium ion intercalations/deintercalations. Therefore, Li(1.2)Mn(0.54)Ni(0.13)Co(0.13)O(2)-950 is a promising electrode for the next-generation high-voltage and high-capacity Li-ion battery application.