Claims
- 1. A method of preparing a lithium cobalt oxide LiwCo1−xAxO2+y having a hexagonal layered crystal structure wherein 0.96≦w≦1.05, 0≦x≦0.05,
- 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first heating step comprises heating the source compounds at a temperature of from about 500° C. to about 850° C.
- 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said second heating step comprises heating the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound at a temperature from about 950° C. to about 980° C.
- 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first heating step comprises heating the source compounds at more than one firing temperature from about 500° C. to about 850° C.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said second heating step comprises heating the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y at more than one firing temperature from about 900° C. to about 1000° C.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said first heating step comprises heating the source compounds for a period of time of from about 30 minutes to about 3 hours.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said second heating step comprises heating the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound for a period of time of from about 30 minutes to about 7 hours.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said heating steps comprise heating the source compounds and the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound in a rotary calciner.
- 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein 0.98≦w≦1.02.
- 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein 0≦x≦0.02.
- 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the lithium source compound is selected from the group consisting of Li2CO3 and LiOH and a cobalt source compound selected from the group consisting of Co3O4 and Co(OH)2.
- 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of cooling the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound at a rate from 8° C./min to 140° C./min after said heating steps.
- 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of cooling the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound at a rate from 10° C./min to 100° C./min after said heating steps.
- 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dopants A are one or more elements other than Co selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mn, Ti, Zr, V, Mo, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al, Ga, Si, Ge, Sn, and combinations thereof.
- 15. A lithium cobalt oxide prepared according to the method of claim 1.
- 16. A method of preparing a lithium cobalt oxide LiwCo1−xAxO2+y having a hexagonal layered crystal structure wherein 0.96≦w≦1.05, 0≦x≦0.05, −0.02≦y≦0.02 and A is one or more dopants other than Co selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mn, Ti, Zr, V, Mo, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al, Ga, Si, Ge, Sn, and combinations thereof, comprising the steps of:
heating a lithium source compound, a cobalt source compound, and optionally one or more source compounds containing dopants A at a temperature from about 500° C. to about 850° C. for a period of time of from about 30 minutes to about 3 hours to produce LiwCo1−xAxO2+y; heating the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound at a temperature from about 900° C. to 1000° C. for a period of time of from about 30 minutes to about 7 hours to refine the hexagonal layered crystal structure; and cooling the LiwCo1−xAxO2+y compound at a rate from 8° C./min to 140° C./min after said heating steps.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/731,949, filed Dec. 7, 2000, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/170,221, filed Dec. 10, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60170221 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09731949 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Child |
10424056 |
Apr 2003 |
US |