Comparison of electrochemical performance of LiNi(1−x)Co(x)O(2) cathode materials synthesized from coated (1−x)Ni(OH)(2)@xCo(OH)(2) and doped Ni(1−x)Co(x)(OH)(2) precursors

LiNi(1−x)Co(x)O(2) cathode materials were successfully synthesized from coated (1−x)Ni(OH)(2)@xCo(OH)(2) and doped Ni(1−x)Co(x)(OH)(2) precursors, and the effects of the Co site and content in the precursor and final cathode material on the structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the cathodes were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and charge–discharge tests. The electrochemical performance of the materials prepared from the coated precursor was generally better than that of the materials prepared from the doped precursor. However, with increasing Co content, the performance difference gradually decreased. Among the as-prepared samples, the sample coated with 12 mol% Co delivered an excellent reversible capacity of 213.8 mA h g(−1) at 0.1C and the highest capacity retention of 88.5% after 100 cycles at 0.2C in the voltage range of 2.75–4.3 V. High-performance LiNi(1−x)Co(x)O(2) materials were successfully synthesized, and our findings clearly reveal the differences in the electrochemical properties of the materials prepared from the two different precursors with increasing Co content, thereby providing a valuable reference for the synthesis of high-performance Ni-rich layered cathode materials for Li-ion batteries.