LAUSR

Abstract Based on the Mn0.806Co0.194CO3 precursors, Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 micro-cube (MC-LMNC) was prepared. The as-prepared sample is hollow and possesses a shell of about 200 nm, which is assembled by a series of nano particles (∼50 nm). X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the materials obtained are well crystalline and have a good layered structure. The electron microscopy showed that the micro-cubes disperse uniformly and have a hierarchical structure. In comparison to the sample obtained by a sol-gel method (SG-LMNC), LNMC micro-cube has a much better electrochemical performance. The average discharge capacities for SG-LMNC sample are 276.6, 220.1, 155.8, 97.9, 66.7, and 40.3 mAh g−1 at a 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 C respectively, while those for MC-LMNC are 302.5, 241.2, 190.5, 145.4, 103.8, and 70.6 mAh g−1 at the same rates. EIS measurements confirmed that the diffusion coefficients for SG-LMNC and MC-LMNC are 1.13 × 10−16 and 1.61 × 10−16 cm2 s−1. The origin of the performance differences can be attributed to the different morphology, surface area, and pore size of the two samples, which has been verified by the BET analysis.