Synthesis of sea urchin-like LiMn2O4 hollow macrospheres via in situ conversion for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

• DOI: 10.1007/s11581-012-0759-z
• Publication Date: 2012-06-28T19:31:13Z
• Authors: Liping Ni; Xiaomin Cheng; Xiufang Wang; Yulun Tao; Yuhua Shen; Tong Zhang; Haoran Sun; Anjian Xie
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy

Among several materials (transition metal oxide) under development for use as a cathode in lithium-ion batteries, cubic spinel LiMn2O4 is one of the most promising cathode materials. In this study, the sea urchin-like LiMn2O4 hollow macrospheres were synthesized by using sea urchin-like α-MnO2 precursors through solid-state in situ self-sacrificing conversion route. The as-prepared LiMn2O4 was assembled by many single-crystalline “thorns” of ca.10–20 nm in diameter and ca. 400–500 nm in length. Galvanostatic battery testing showed that sea urchin-like LiMn2O4 had an initial discharge capacity of 126.8 mAh/g at the rate of 0.2 C in the potential range between 3.0 and 4.5 V. More than 96.67 % of the initial discharge capacity was maintained for over 50 cycles. The improved electrochemical properties were attributed to the reduced particle size and enhanced electrical contacts by the materials. This particular sea urchin-like structured composite conceptually provides a new strategy for designing electrodes in energy storage applications.