(774g) Design Mesostructured LiMn2O4 As Low-Cost Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Lithium ion batteries are the dominant power sources for mobile electronic devices and will play increasingly important role in expanding market of electric vehicles and green energy storage. Spinel LiMn₂O₄, alternative to expensive and toxic LiCoO₂, as cathode materials in lithium ion batteries are attracting much attention for advantages of low cost, environmental benignness, and abundance. However, the low lithium-ion diffusion coefficient and capacity fading caused by dismutation reaction of Mn³⁺ restrict the applications of LiMn₂O₄ at large/industrial scale where bulky batteries are required to have good cycling performance at high current rate with no significant capacity fading. Our strategy is to design and tailor the structure and composition of LiMn₂O₄ to improve its conductivity and cycling performance. In this presentation, our latest efforts on the design and facile fabrication of LiMn₂O₄ as high-power cathode materials will be reported. The unique structure is tailored and controlled to allow fast lithium ion diffusion while maintaining structure stability. The unique mesostructure is fully characterized by electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction and their electrochemical performance in lithium ion batteries is thoroughly evaluated.