Method for Manufacturing Cathode Active Material and Lithium Secondary Battery Including the Same

Method for Manufacturing NCMA Cathode Active Materials via Direct Solvothermal Synthesis of Quaternary Precursors

This technology is a process for manufacturing high-capacity, high-stability layered cathode materials. It uses solvothermal synthesis to directly produce quaternary (NCMA) cathode active material precursors from a mixture of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum nitrates, which are then mixed with lithium sources and heat-treated.

Conventional co-precipitation methods require complex control of variables such as ammonia concentration, pH, and stirring speed when doping with aluminum, making the process cumbersome. Furthermore, there has been a need to address the structural instability and reduced cycle life associated with high-nickel (Ni≥0.8) cathode materials.

This technology is ideal for improving both the reliability and efficiency of lithium secondary battery cathode materials. It involves heat-treating nitrate-based (Ni, Co, Mn, Al) precursors in an ethanol solvent at 150–250°C to synthesize uniform spherical particles, followed by mixing with a lithium source (e.g., LiOH·H2O) and performing a two-stage heat treatment at 400–900°C.

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Key Features:

• Mixing a plurality of compound precursors, including nickel nitrate, cobalt nitrate, manganese nitrate, and aluminum nitrate, with an ethanol solvent
• A first step of manufacturing a cathode active material precursor by heat-treating the mixture at a temperature of 150 to 250°C for 5 to 12 hours
• Mixing the prepared cathode active material precursor with a lithium source and firing it at a high temperature
• Configuration for directly synthesizing quaternary cathode active material precursors without a co-precipitation process using solvothermal synthesis

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