Single-crystal
materials have played a unique role in the development
of high-performance cathode materials for Li batteries due to their
favorable chemomechanical stability. The molten salt synthesis method
has become one of the most prominent techniques used to synthesize
single-crystal layered and spinel materials. In this work, the molten
salt synthesis method is used as a technique to tune both the morphology
and Mn3+ content of high-voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathodes. The resulting materials are
thoroughly characterized by a suite of analytical techniques, including
synchrotron X-ray core-level spectroscopy, which are sensitive to
the material properties on multiple length scales. The multidimensional
characterization allows us to build a materials library according
to the molten salt phase diagram as well as to establish the relationship
among synthesis, material properties, and battery performance. The
results of this work show that the Mn3+ content is primarily
dependent on the synthesis temperature and increases as the temperature
is increased. The particle morphology is mostly dependent on the composition
of the molten salt flux, which can be tailored to obtain well-defined
octahedrons enclosed by (111) facets, plates with predominant (112̅)
facets, irregularly shaped particles, or mixtures of these. The electrochemical
measurements indicate that the Mn3+ content has a larger
contribution to the battery performance of LNMO than do morphological
characteristics and that a significant amount of Mn3+ could
become detrimental to the battery performance. However, with similar
Mn3+ contents, morphology still plays a role in influencing
the battery cycle life and rate performance. The insights of molten
salt synthesis parameters on the formation of LNMO, with deconvolution
of the roles of Mn3+ and morphology, are crucial to continuing
studies in the rational design of LNMO cathode materials for high-energy
Li batteries.