Nanosized LiCrO2 center dot Li2MnO3 composite powders are prepared by a new concept spray pyrolysis. The precursor and post-treated powders have a Li2CrO4 impurity introduced by the partial oxidation of LiCrO2. The powders have a pure layered structure corresponding to the LiCrO2 center dot Li2MnO3 composite after Li2CrO4 is removed by washing with distilled water. The real composition of the washed cathode powders is Li1.18Cr0.404Mn0.477O2. The aggregated post-treated powders are converted into nanosized powders after washing with distilled water; milling is not required for this conversion. The mean size of the nanosized LiCrO2 center dot Li2MnO3 powders is 48 nm. The LiCrO2 center dot Li2MnO3 cathode sample post-treated at 750 degrees C has initial charge and discharge capacities of 272 and 233 mAh g(-1) at a constant current density of 18 mA g(-1), respectively. The discharge capacity of the cathode sample post-treated at 750 C decreases from 233 to 222 mAh g(-1) by the 44th cycle, in which the capacity retention is 95%. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.