Pulse combustion reactor as a fast and scalable synthetic method for preparation of Li-ion cathode materials

Abstract

In this work a novel pulse combustion reactor method for preparation of Li-ion cathode materials is introduced. Its advantages and potential challenges are demonstrated on two widely studied cathode materials, LiFePO4/C and Li-rich NMC. By exploiting the nature of efficiency of pulse combustion we have successfully established a slightly reductive or oxidative environment necessary for synthesis. As a whole, the proposed method is fast, environmentally friendly and easy to scale. An important advantage of the proposed method is that it preferentially yields small-sized powders (in the nanometric range) at a fast production rate of 2 s. A potential disadvantage is the relatively high degree of disorder of synthesized active material which however can be removed using a post-annealing step. This additional step allows a further tuning of materials morphology as shown and commented in some detail.