Positive electrode active material for lithium secondary battery comprising lithium metal oxides having multilayered structure and positive electrode comprising the same

1. A positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery having a core-shell structure comprising:

a core composed of lithium transition metal oxides including nickel(Ni), manganese(Mn) and cobalt(Co); and

a shell composed of lithium transition metal oxides including cobalt(Co),

wherein the lithium transition metal oxide of the core is a compound represented by the following Formula 1, and the lithium transition metal oxide of the shell is a compound represented by the following Formula 2:

Li y [Ni a Mn b Co 1−(a+b+c) M c ]O 2   (1)

wherein,

0.55≤a≤0.9, 0.05≤b≤0.5, 0<c≤0.1, a+b+c≤1, 0.98≤y≤1.10; and

M is Zr or Zr and one or more selected from the group consisting of W, B, Al, Ti, Mg, Cr, and Si;

Li y Co (1−a) Z a O 2   (2)

wherein,

0<a≤0.1, 0.98≤y≤1.10; and

Z is Zr or Zr and one or more selected from the group consisting of W, B, Al, Zr, Ti, Mg, Cr, and Si,

wherein an inorganic material layer is further formed by coating on a surface of the shell, and

wherein a content of the inorganic material layer is 0.1 wt % or more to 3.0 wt % or less based on the total weight of the positive electrode active material.

2. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material layer includes one or more inorganic elements selected from the group consisting of Al, Ti, Zr, W, Mg, Co, B and Nb.

3. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material layer is any one selected from the group consisting of Al 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 , PO 4 , SeO 3 , and SnO 2 .

4. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material layer includes an inorganic element of Al.

5. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the content of the inorganic material layer is 1.1 wt % or more to 3.0 wt % or less based on the total weight of the positive electrode active material.

6. The positive electrode active material according to claim 5 , wherein the content of the inorganic material layer is 2.0 wt % or more to 3.0 wt % or less based on the total weight of the positive electrode active material.

7. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material layer has a thickness of 1 to 150 nm.

8. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein a content ratio between the core and the shell is 20:80 to 80:20 on a weight basis.

9. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the core has a concentration gradient in which a concentration of nickel, manganese, and cobalt decreases toward the outer surface, and the shell has a concentration gradient in which a concentration of cobalt decreases toward the outer surface.

10. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the core has a structure in which a concentration of nickel, manganese, and cobalt is constant without a concentration gradient within a core region, and the shell has a structure in which a concentration of cobalt is constant without a concentration gradient within a shell region.

11. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the positive electrode active material further includes a concentration gradient layer formed between an outside of the core and an inside of the shell, in which a concentration of one or more transition metals continuously changes to exhibit a concentration gradient.

12. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the positive electrode active material has a particle size of 0.1 to 1 μm.

13. The positive electrode active material according to claim 1 , wherein the positive electrode active material is a secondary particle formed by aggregation of primary particles, and a lithium ion diffusion path in the primary particle is formed in the center direction of the secondary particle.

14. A method for producing the positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 comprising:

(a) uniformly mixing a precursor for the production of a positive electrode active material having a core-shell structure with lithium oxide, and then performing a calcination reaction to produce a lithium transition metal oxide powder.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the method comprises the steps of:

(b) preparing a mixed solution containing one or more inorganic element selected from the group consisting of Al, Ti, Zr, W, Mg, Co, B and Nb in an organic solvent;

(c) mixing the mixed solution with the prepared lithium transition metal oxide powder and stirring the mixed solution in a paste state;

(d) drying the pasty mixture to evaporate the organic solvent; and

(e) heat-treating the dried mixture to produce a positive electrode active material in which a inorganic material layer is formed on the surface of the lithium transition metal oxide particles.

16. A positive electrode comprising the positive electrode active material according to claim 1 .

17. A lithium secondary battery comprising the positive electrode according to claim 16 .