A method of preparing a cathode material for a lithium-ion battery cell, comprising the steps of: 1) dissolving a salt of nickel, a salt of manganese, and a salt of cobalt in de-ionized water to obtain an aqueous solution, wherein a molar ratio of the metal elements Ni to Mn to Co is 1.2-7.2 to 1.5-3.1 to 1-2.2; 2) adding the aqueous solution into an alkaline solution to form a suspension of multi-element metal hydroxide particles; 3) adding a solution of a salt of a metal into the suspension to form a solid product comprising a precipitate of a hydroxide of the metal on the surface of the multi-element metal hydroxide particles; 4) drying the suspension containing the solid product to obtain a multi-element precursor; 5) mixing the multi-element precursor with one or more lithium salts to obtain a first mixture, wherein a molar ratio of the metal element Li to a total amount of the metal elements Ni, Mn, Co and the metal is 1.02-1.2 to 1; 6) dispersing the first mixture in an aqueous solvent to form a slurry; 7) homogenizing the slurry by a homogenizer; 8) drying the slurry to obtain a solid mixture; 9) calcinating the solid mixture under an atmosphere with an oxygen content higher than 21% at a temperature from about 600°C to about 900°C for a time period from about 4 hours to about 12 hours to obtain a calcinated product; and 10) cooling the calcinated product to room temperature, crushing the calcinated product, and isolating particles of the calcinated product having a particle size D50 in the range from about 5 μm to about 15 μm to obtain the cathode material; wherein the cathode material comprises lithium multi-metal composite oxide particles capped with a thin film of an oxide of the metal, wherein the lithium multi-metal composite oxide is represented by Li 1+z Ni x Mn y Co 1-x-y O 2 ; and wherein z is from 0 to 0.2; x is from 0.35 to 0.8; y is from 0.1 to 0.45; and the metal is one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Fe, Mn, Al, Mg, Zn, Ti, La, Ce, Sn, Zr, Ru and combinations thereof. 1) dissolving a salt of nickel, a salt of manganese, and a salt of cobalt in de-ionized water to obtain an aqueous solution, wherein a molar ratio of the metal elements Ni to Mn to Co is 1.2-7.2 to 1.5-3.1 to 1-2.2; 2) adding the aqueous solution into an alkaline solution to form a suspension of multi-element metal hydroxide particles; 3) adding a solution of a salt of a metal into the suspension to form a solid product comprising a precipitate of a hydroxide of the metal on the surface of the multi-element metal hydroxide particles; 4) drying the suspension containing the solid product to obtain a multi-element precursor; 5) mixing the multi-element precursor with one or more lithium salts to obtain a first mixture, wherein a molar ratio of the metal element Li to a total amount of the metal elements Ni, Mn, Co and the metal is 1.02-1.2 to 1; 6) dispersing the first mixture in an aqueous solvent to form a slurry; 7) homogenizing the slurry by a homogenizer; 8) drying the slurry to obtain a solid mixture; 9) calcinating the solid mixture under an atmosphere with an oxygen content higher than 21% at a temperature from about 600°C to about 900°C for a time period from about 4 hours to about 12 hours to obtain a calcinated product; and 10) cooling the calcinated product to room temperature, crushing the calcinated product, and isolating particles of the calcinated product having a particle size D50 in the range from about 5 μm to about 15 μm to obtain the cathode material; <EOS>