Polyurethane foam as restrict reaction vessel to synthesis of Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2for lithium-ion batteries

In this work, the polyurethane (PU) foam is applied as restrict reaction vessel to synthesis of nanometer dimension Li-rich Manganese-based layered cathode material Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (LMNCO). The PU foam has strong ability of absorbing mixed metal salt solution and keeping them in a relatively stable system during the freeze-drying process. Meanwhile, it supplies abundant three-dimensional interconnecting structure with macro-pore sizes of about 200–500 μm, which can be served as a sacrificial framework, obstructing the raw materials aggregation and supporting the products in the pre-sintering process. The results demonstrate that the facile method performed on PU foam could effectively suppress the growth of grains. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that the Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 particles have a size of 100–600 nm and mainly distributed between 200–300 nm. Moreover, it displays excellent cycle performance with high capacity retention rate of 85.3% after 100 cycles at a current density of 20 mA g−1.