Effect of the Amount of Water on the Synthesis of Limn2o4, Used as Cathode Material in Lithium-Ion Batteries

LiMn2O4 with nanostructured morphologies possess rapid kinetics which is favorable for the intercalation of lithium ions in battery electrodes1. In this work, we have studied the effect of varying the amount of water in the hydrothermal synthesis of nanostructured LiMn2O4 spinel. It was found that three distinct nanostructured morphologies of this compound are obtained when the volume of water used during the synthesis is varied. The powders were morphologically and structurally characterized using TEM, XRD, and BET yielding particle sizes ranging from 1 to 50 nm, with 90% of the sample possessing a particle size of 21.7 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis show characteristic peaks and confirm the compound s identity and crystalline structure. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of this material in lithium ion batteries was studied. The results indicate that the electrochemical performance is strongly influenced by the size and shape of the α-LiMn2O4 nanoparticles. © 2015, Sociedad Chilena de Quimica. All rights reserved.