Characterizations on the microstructures of LiMn2O4 prepared by a simple soft-chemical technique

LiMn2O4 powders were prepared by a simple soft-chemical technique at different temperatures. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis suggested that the material prepared at 800 °C was stoichiometric LiMn2O4, whereas those prepared at 600 and 700 °C were Li[Mn0.773+Mn1.234+]O4.115 and Li[Mn0.853+Mn1.154+]O4.075. Several typical XRD peaks of the compounds were investigated with an aim to elucidate (i) the Li immigration to the 16d octahedral sites, (ii) the partial tetragonal phase transition of the material and (iii) the mean coherent domain size and microstrain. SEM study showed that the particle size of the materials increased with heating temperature. The activation energy for the material particle growth was determined as 30.4 kJ mol− 1.