A positive electrode active material for a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that includes a lithium transition metal composite oxide having a spinel structure and containing nickel and manganese is provided. The positive electrode active material includes a first surface region having a chemical composition with a molar ratio of nickel to manganese of 0.1 or less on the surface of the lithium transition metal composite oxide.

A positive electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery includes a positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery that includes a first positive active material including a secondary particle including at least two agglomerated primary particles, where at least a portion of the primary particles has a radial arrangement structure, and a second positive active material having a monolith structure, wherein the first and second positive active materials each include a nickel-based positive active material, and an X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak intensity ratio (I(003)/I(104)) of the positive electrode is greater than or equal to about 3. Further embodiments provide a method of manufacturing the positive electrode for rechargeable lithium battery, and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same.

An advantage is to provide a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery with improved heat resistance. A positive electrode active material contains a lithium-transition metal composite oxide containing 80 mol % or more of Ni and 0.1 mol % to 1.5 mol % of B on the basis of the total number of moles of metal elements excluding Li, and B and at least one element (M1) selected from Groups 4 to 6 are present on at least the surfaces of particles of the composite oxide. When particles having a volume-based particle size larger than 70% particle size (D70) are first particles, and particles having a volume-based particle size smaller than 30% particle size (D30) are second particles, the molar fraction of M1 on the basis of the total number of moles of metallic elements excluding Li on the surfaces of the second particles is greater than that of the first particles.

The present invention belongs to the field of battery materials, and relates to a process for preparing a particulate lithium manganese nickel spinel compound, and materials produced by the process. The process of the invention uses Mn-containing precursors, Ni-containing precursors, Li-containing precursors and optionally M-containing precursor which form substantially no NOx ases during calcination. The particulate lithium manganese nickel spinel compound product of the process may find use in a lithium ion battery.

There is provided a method for producing lithium difluorophosphate in which difluorophosphate ester reacts with a lithium salt compound in a nonaqueous organic solvent without using water as a raw material, a method for producing a difluoro phosphate ester including a step of allowing a dihalophosphate ester to react with a fluorinating agent having a concentration of contained hydrogen fluoride of 15 mol % or less in a nonaqueous organic solvent; lithium difluorophosphate in which a value of a relational expression (d90-d10)/MV represented by d90 which is a particle size at which a volume cumulative distribution is 90%, d10 which is a particle size at which a volume cumulative distribution is 10%, and MV which is a volume average particle size is 10 or less; and methods for producing a nonaqueous electrolytic solution and a nonaqueous secondary battery using the production method described above.

A positive electrode active material is constituted by lithium transition metal-containing composite oxide particles having a layered rock salt type crystal structure and are composed of secondary particles each formed of an aggregation of primary particles. The secondary particles have a d50 of 3.0 to 7.0 μm, a BET specific surface area of 1.8 to 5.5 m.sup.2/g, a pore peak diameter of 0.01 to 0.30 μm, and a log differential pore volume [dV/d(log D)] of 0.2 to 0.6 ml/g within a range of the pore peak diameter. In each of a plurality of primary particles having a primary particle size of 0.1 to 1.0 μm, a coefficient of variation of the concentration of an additive element M is 1.5 or less.

The invention relates to active electrode materials and to methods for the manufacture of active electrode materials. Such materials are of interest as active electrode materials in lithium-ion or sodium-ion batteries. The invention provides an active electrode material expressed by the general formula [M][Nb].sub.y[O].sub.z; wherein the active electrode material is oxygen deficient; wherein M consists of one of Mg, Cr, W, Mo, Cu, Ga, Ge, Ca, K, Ni, Co, Al, Sn, Mn, Ce, Sb, Y, La, Hf, Ta, Zn, In, or Cd; y satisfies 0.5≤y≤49; and z satisfies 4≤z≤124.

A zirconia powder in which when a stabilizer is Y.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and less than 2.0 mol %; when the stabilizer is Er.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and 1.8 mol % or less; when the stabilizer is Yb.sub.2O.sub.3, a content thereof is 1.4 mol % or more and 1.8 mol % or less; and when the stabilizer is CaO, a content thereof is 3.5 mol % or more and 4.5 mol % or less; and in a range of 10 nm or more and 200 nm or less in a pore distribution, a peak top diameter of a pore volume distribution is 20 nm or more and 120 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 ml/g or more and less than 0.5 ml/g, and a pore distribution width is 30 nm or more and 170 nm or less.

A zirconia powder containing a stabilizer, and having a specific surface area of 20 m.sup.2/g or more and 60 m.sup.2/g or less and a particle diameter D.sub.50 of 0.1 μm or more and 0.7 μm or less, in which in a range of 10 nm or more and 200 nm or less in a pore distribution based on a mercury intrusion method, a peak top diameter in a pore volume distribution is 20 nm or more and 85 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 ml/g or more and less than 0.5 ml/g, and a pore distribution width is 40 nm or more and 105 nm or less.

Passivated Li.sub.7La.sub.3Zr.sub.2O.sub.12 (LLZO) particles, tape casting powders and slip compositions including the particles, methods of forming the particles, methods of tape casting using the particles, green tapes including the particles, cast LLZO films formed from the particles, and lithium batteries including the cast LLZO film. A passivated LLZO particle includes an LLZO core, wherein the LLZO is optionally doped with one or more elements. The passivated LLZO particle also includes a shell including H-LLZO, H.sub.3O.sup.+-LLZO, and/or Li.sub.2CO.sub.3.