High-density precursor for manufacture of composite metal oxide cathodes for Li-ion batteries
The disclosed embodiments relate to the manufacture of a precursor co-precipitate material for a cathode active material composition. During manufacture of the precursor co-precipitate material, an aqueous solution containing at least one of a manganese sulfate and a cobalt sulfate is formed. Next, a NH 4 OH solution is added to the aqueous solution to form a particulate solution comprising irregular secondary particles of the precursor co-precipitate material. A constant pH in the range of 10-12 is also maintained in the particulate solution by adding a basic solution to the particulate solution.
1. A precursor to a cathode active material composition, the precursor comprising:
particles having a composition represented by Mn x M y Co z (OH) 2
wherein 0.01≤x≤0.30, 0≤y≤0.20, 0.94≤z≤1.00, and x+y+z=1;
wherein M comprises one or more metal cations selected from the group consisting of monovalent, divalent, trivalent or tetravalent cations and Ru; and
wherein the particles are characterized by a particle size distribution having a D10/D90 width from 0.45 to 0.70.
2. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein 0.01≤x≤0.04.
3. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein 0≤y<0.02.
4. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein 0.01≤x≤0.04 and 0≤y<0.02.
5. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein M is Ni.
6. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein M is Mg.
7. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein M is a combination of Ni and Mg.
8. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein the particle size distribution has a mean particle size from 10 μm to 40 μm.
9. The precursor of claim 1 , wherein the particles have a tap density from 0.86-1.78 g/cm 3 .