Synthesis and electrochemical performances of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 materials prepared by a coprecipitation-hydrothermal method

Abstract

Spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) is considered to be a potential cathode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its low manufacturing cost, environmentally friendly, and three-dimensional lithium-ion channel. However, the presence of large amounts of Mn3+ leads to a decrease in electrical performance. In this paper, LNMO was prepared by coprecipitation-hydrothermal and co-precipitation methods. The characterization of materials was tested by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical measurements. The content of Mn3+, LixNi1-xO impurities and the particle size were reduced, and the crystallinity of LNMO was enhanced, which can improve the charge/discharge performance and rate capability of the materials. It was the superiority of LNMO synthesized by a coprecipitation-hydrothermal method. The discharge-specific capacity reached 127.98 mAh·g−1 at 1 C. Moreover, it increased to 114.43 mAh·g−1 and 85.48 mAh·g−1 at 5 C and 10 C, respectively. After 200 cycles, the capacity retention remained 84.06 % at 1 C.