Energy and Fuels: Sol-Gel Synthesized Core-Shell 0.5Li₂MnO₃∙0.5LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2O₂ Material: Effect of Mixed Fuel (Citric Acid and Ammonium Acetate) on the Structural Properties

A comprehensive study was conducted to determine the effect of fuel mixtures on the structural properties of core-shell 0.5Li₂MnO₃·0.5LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2O₂ cathode material (CS-SG-7525). The core (LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.08O₂) was synthesized using the citric acid monohydrate and ammonium acetate fuel-rich solution combustion method in ratio 3:1. The shell (Li₂MnO₃) was coated on the core using sol gel method. A high (003)/(104) peak and a clearly distinctive splitting of (006)/(102) and (108)/(110) doublet peaks suggesting a good layered structure material were observed in all the XRD pattern. Two strong peaks are observed at 500 cm⁻¹ and 600 cm⁻¹ for E_g and A_1g Raman modes, respectively, for the material. These peaks were attributed to rhombohedral phase (R3m space group) of a layered structure of core segment (LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂). Some narrow and weak peaks were observed around 300–440 cm⁻¹. These peaks were attributed to monoclinic symmetry (C2/m space group) of the layered structure of the shell segment (Li₂MnO₃). The surface morphological revealed that the material is made up of irregular particle shape with rough surfaces. The particle size of the materials ranges from 0.28 to 1.49 μm with average particle size of 0.67 μm. The ICP-OES revealed the elemental composition of the materials was close to its nominal values. The synthesized material could be used as Li-ion batteries cathode materials.