Method to produce cathode materials for Li-ion batteries

A process to produce a lithium mixed metal oxide cathode active material for use in lithium ion batteries comprising:

• in a precursor preparation step, adding solid metal particles of selected metals to a reaction system containing a mixture comprising the solid metal particles, an aqueous solution, and at least one oxidant, under alkaline conditions to form a slurry comprising a precursor product and unreacted metals, wherein the selected metals are selected from the group consisting of nickel, manganese, cobalt, aluminum, and magnesium;
• in a recycling step, separating the unreacted metals from the slurry to form a first solution and collected unreacted metals, separating the precursor product from the first solution to form a second solution and a collected precursor product, and recycling the collected unreacted metals and the second solution directly to the reaction system;
• and
• in a lithiation step, mixing the collected precursor product with lithium-containing compounds to produce a final mixture, and calcining the final mixture to obtain a lithium mixed metal oxide cathode active material;
• wherein solid particles with the same or similar compositions as the precursor product, and a smaller particle size than the precursor product, are introduced into the reaction system during the precursor preparation step.