Preparation and electrochemical characterization of lithium cobalt oxide nanoparticles by modified sol-gel method

Uniformly distributed nanoparticles of LiCoO<SUB>2</SUB> have been synthesized through the simple sol-gel method in presence of neutral surfactant (Tween-80). The powders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical method including charge-discharge cycling performance. The powder calcined at a temperature of 900 °C for 5 h shows pure phase layered LiCoO<SUB>2</SUB>. The results show that the particle size is reduced in presence of surfactant as compared to normal sol-gel method. Also, the sample prepared in presence of surfactant and calcined at 900 °C for 5 h shows the highest initial discharge capacity (106 mAh g<SUP>-1</SUP>) with good cycling stability as compared to the sample prepared without surfactant which shows the specific discharge capacity of 50 mAh g<SUP>-1