Nanosized and Nanostructured Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

There is a great deal of interest in improving the properties of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries to meet the energy and power demand of many applications including most consumer electronics, the electric vehicle and large-format energy storage. Traditionally, the rate capability of most cathode materials is intrinsically limited to the slow ionic diffusion within the crystalline structure, and for a few materials, the problem is exacerbated by poor bulk electronic conductivity. Nanostructuring and nanosizing cathode materials have proven to be a very useful method to overcome the problem and not only enhance the rate performance of the batteries but also render some materials electrochemically active. In this chapter, we review the most recent advances in the subject by summarizing new design and synthetic methods for nanomaterials, their characterization and performance in lithium-ion batteries with great emphasis on olivines (LiFePO₄) and spinel LiMn₂O₄ and its Ni substituent nanomaterials.