Spinel LiMn2O4 active material with high capacity retention

Heating the mixture of LiMn2O4 and NiO at 650 8C was employed to enhance the cyclability of spinel LiMn2O4. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analyses implied that a LiNixMn2 xO4 solid solution was formed on the surface of LiMn2O4 particles. And charge–discharge tests showed that the enhancement of the capacity retention of modified LiMn2O4 is significant, maintained 97.2% of the maximum capacity after 100 cycles at charge and discharge rate of C/2, while the pure one only 75.2%. The modified LiMn2O4 also results in a distinct improvement in rate capability, even at the rate of 12C. The improvement of electrochemical cycling stability is greatly attributed to the suppression of Jahn–Teller distortion at the surface of spinel LiMn2O4 particles.