Low-cost and eco-friendly synthesis of octahedral LiMn2O4 cathode material with excellent electrochemical performance

Abstract

Abstract Here, high-performance LiMn2O4 particles of octahedral morphology with exposed (111) planes were synthesized via an easy, inexpensive and eco-friendly process using octahedral-shaped Mn3O4 as precursor, which was fabricated by reacting potassium permanganate (KMnO4) with a tiny amount of ethylene glycol (C2H6O2) using the hydrothermal method. Without cation doping and surface modification, the octahedral LiMn2O4 particles showed very good cycling life and outstanding high-temperature performance. When cycled at 1.0 C, it exhibited a desirable capacity of 123.6 mAh g−1 (Retention after 200 cycles: 93.7%). At high rate of 10 C, this material delivered 85.7 and 85.3 mAh g−1 discharge capacities with excellent retentions of 94.7% and 90.5% after 200 cycles at 25 and 55 °C, respectively. Such impressive performance was obtained largely from the unique octahedral morphology with exposed (111) planes, high crystallinity and uniform particle size distribution, which effectively mitigated the dissolution of manganese, maintained the structural stability and accelerated the diffusion of lithium ions.