A method is disclosed for synthesizing a crystalline metal oxide powder material
containing two or more uniformly distributed metal elements. Crystalline, water
containing, oxygen containing inorganic acid salts of the metals are heated to
liquefy the salts. The apparent solution contains a uniform mixture of the metal
elements. The water is removed from the liquid and the resulting powder calcined
in air to decompose the acid salts to a mixed metal crystalline oxide. The method
is particularly useful to make doped LiNiO2 type crystals using hydrated
nitrate or nitrite salts of Li, Ni and the dopant elements. Examples of useful
salts are LiNO3.H2O, Ni(NO3)2.6H2O,
Co(NO3)2.6H2O, Al(NO3)3.9H2O,
and Mg(NO3)2.6H2O.
