In order to develop safe lithium-ion batteries using Ni-based cathode active materials, such as LiNixMn(1-x)/2Co(1-x)(/2)O-2, thermal stability is one of the most important requirements. We used XRD and TDS-MS in the first step of our study to elucidate the thermal stability and to improve it under anomalous high temperature conditions. We investigated the relationship between the thermal stability and cathode composition, especially for that of the nickel and lithium content. The XRD indicated that the crystal structure of electrochemically delithiated materials changed from a layered into a spinel structure followed by a rock-salt structure as the temperature rose. The TDS-MS indicated that these changes coincided with the release of oxygen from the cathode materials. We found that decreasing the lithium content and increasing the nickel content made the temperature of the crystal structure change and oxygen release lower, and thus, influenced the cathode composition. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.