This is the author manuscript accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/aenm.202002719. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Probing Dopant Redistribution, Phase Propagation, and Local Chemical Changes in the Synthesis of Layered Oxide Battery Cathodes Zhijie Yang, Linqin Mu, Dong Hou, Muhammad Mominur Rahman, Zhengrui Xu, Jue Liu, Dennis Nordlund, Cheng-Jun Sun, Xianghui Xiao, Feng Lin * Z. Yang, Dr. L. Mu, Dr. D. Hou, M.M. Rahman, Z. Xu, Prof. F. Lin Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061 USA. E-mail: fenglin@vt.edu. Dr. J. Liu Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831 USA. Dr. D. Nordlund Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA, 94025 USA. Dr. C. -J. Sun Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, 60439 USA. Dr. X. Xiao National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973 USA. *Corresponding author Keywords: dopant distribution, calcination, layered oxide, Co-free, Li-ion batteries