Layered lithium chromium manganese oxide compounds for high capacity electrode materials in rechargeable lithium batteries

A series of LiCr_xLi_(1−x)/3Mn_2(1−x)/3]O₂ cathode materials were prepared by the sol-gel process. The structural characterization was carried out by fitting the XRD data by the Rietveld method. The results of X-ray diffraction show that the crystal structure is similar to that of thelayered lithium transition metal oxides (R3-m space group). The particle morphology and size were observed by SEM, and the elemental content was determined by ICP. The electrochemical performance of the cathode was evaluated in the voltage range of 2.0 ∼ 4.9 V with a current density of 7.947 mA/g. The Li_1.27Cr_0.2Mn_0.53O₂ electrode delivered a high reversible capacity of around 280 mAh/g in cycling. LiCr_xLi_(1−x)/3Mn_2(1−x)/3]O₂ was found to be a promising cathode material. Paper presented at the International Conference on Functional Materials and Devices 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 6 – 8, 2005.