High power nano-LiMn2O4 cathode materials with high-rate pulse discharge capability for lithium-ion batteries

Nano-LiMn 2 O 4 cathode materials with nano-sized particles are synthesized via a citric acid assisted sol-gel route.The structure,the morphology and the electrochemical properties of the nano-LiMn 2 O 4 are investigated.Compared with the micro-sized LiMn 2 O 4,the nano-LiMn 2 O 4 possesses a high initial capacity (120 mAh/g) at a discharge rate of 0.2 C (29.6 mA/g).The nano-LiMn 2 O 4 also has a good high-rate discharge capability,retaining 91% of its capacity at a discharge rate of 10 C and 73% at a discharge rate of 40 C.In particular,the nano-LiMn 2 O 4 shows an excellent high-rate pulse discharge capability.The cut-off voltage at the end of 50-ms pulse discharge with a discharge rate of 80 C is above 3.40 V,and the voltage returns to over 4.10 V after the pulse discharge.These results show that the prepared nano-LiMn 2 O 4 could be a potential cathode material for the power sources with the capability to deliver very high-rate pulse currents.