One of the big challenges for enhancing the energy density of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) to meet increasing demands for portable electronic devices is to develop the high voltage lithium cobalt oxide materials (HV-LCO, >4.5V vs graphite). In this review, we examine the historical developments of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) based cathode materials in the last 40 years. According to the research topics at different periods, three research and developing stages of LCO are classified and elaborated. At the first stage, the researches on the basic properties of LCO are comprehensively summarized, which includes crystal/electronic structure, phase changes, electrochemical process, and failure mechanism. At the second stage, the elegant development of modification methods, which aim at improving the stability of the bulk structure, thermal and interface, are introduced in detail. The third stage started from 2018, high capacity (>190 mAh g⁻¹), highly stable and high-rate capability of LCO is being developed and expected to be commercialized in the next few years. Finally, some perspectives of the remaining challenges, as well as the promising applications of HV-LCO, are also discussed.

增强锂离子电池（LIB）的能量密度以满足便携式电子设备不断增长的需求的一大挑战是开发高压钴酸锂材料（HV-LCO，> 4.5V vs.石墨）。在这篇综述中，我们考察了过去40年基于锂钴氧化物（LCO）的正极材料的历史发展。根据不同时期的研究主题，对LCO的三个研发阶段进行了分类和阐述。在第一阶段，对LCO的基本性能的研究进行了全面的总结，包括晶体/电子结构，相变，电化学过程和破坏机理。在第二阶段，修饰方法的优雅发展，其目的是提高整体结构的稳定性，详细介绍了散热和接口。第三阶段从2018年开始，高容量（> 190 mAh g^-1），LCO的高稳定性和高速率能力正在开发中，并有望在未来几年中商业化。最后，还讨论了剩余挑战的一些观点以及HV-LCO的有希望的应用。