Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO
2) is a chemical compound commonly used in the positive electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. The structure of LiCoO
2 is known theoretically and has been confirmed with techniques like x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, neutron powder diffraction, and EXAFS: it consists of layers of lithium that lie between slabs of octahedra formed by cobalt and oxygen atoms. The space group is in Hermann-Mauguin notation, signifying a rhombus-like unit cell with threefold improper rotational symmetry and a mirror plane. More simply, however, both lithium and cobalt are octahedrally coordinated by oxygen. These octahedrons are edge-sharing, and tilted relative to the layered structure. The threefold rotational axis (which is normal to the layers) is termed improper because the triangles of oxygen (being on opposite sides of each octahedron) are anti-aligned.