Mesoporous Spinel LiMn2O4 Nanomaterial as a Cathode for High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

We demonstrate mesoporous spinel LiMn2O4 nanomaterial (NS-LMO) synthesized by polymer template method for high-performance lithium ion batteries. The as-synthesized NS-LMO exhibits complete spinel LMO structure with dominant {111} surfaces, nanocrystalline of ~30 nm in size, and relatively high surface area (~13.8 m2 g-1) with mesoporous characteristics. In contrast, the LMO (SS-LMO) prepared by the solid state reaction method consists of a spinel structure of LMO and an extra phase of Mn2O3. The NS-LMO displays much higher capacity of ~96.19 mAh g-1 at 1 C compared to the SS-LMO (~57.03 mAh g-1) and improved rate cycling performance with the complete capacity retention.