Study on Lithium Manganese Oxide Spinel System as Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Battery: Synthesis, Morphological and Electrochemical Characteristics

Abstract

Lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4) spinel compounds were synthesized by melting impregnation method using manganese dioxide (MnO2) and lithium nitrate (LiNO3). Four sources of MnO2 raw materials were used: a commercial electrochemical manganese dioxide (EMD) supplied by Pin Con O factory; EMD thermal pretreated (EMDt); and MnO2 synthesized chemically (CMD) by oxidation of MnSO4 solution with K2S2O, and EMD synthesized in our laboratory. The effect of the MnO2 materials on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4 is investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical measurements. The charge-discharge cycling behavior in Swagelok model of lithium-ion cells, using synthesized LiMn2O4 as cathode, lithium metal as anode and LiPF6 as electrolyte with Whatman glass separator, showed that the spinels from thermal treated EMDt and CMD gave higher (3100 mAh/g) and more stable values of specific capacity than the spinels from non-treated EMD.