NMR and FT-IR Investigation of Spinel LiMn2O4 Cathode Prepared by the Tartaric Acid Gel Process

The structure of the lithium manganese tartrate precursor and the synthesis mechanism of LiMn₂O₄ were investigated by FT-IR, NMR, TG/DSC, and XRD in this study. The results of FT-IR and ⁷Li and ¹³C NMR measurements revealed that lithium ions bond with carboxylic acid ligands and the O–H stretching modes of tartaric acid. Manganese ion bonds only with carboxylic acid. Lithium and manganese ions were trapped homogeneously on an atomic scale throughout the precursor. Such a structure eliminates the need for long-range diffusion during the formation of lithium manganese oxides. Therefore, spinel LiMn₂O₄ was synthesized at temperatures as low as 300°C. In this work, the electrochemical properties of Li/Li_xMn₂O₄ were studied. It is clear that the discharge curves exhibit two pseudo plateaus as the LiMn₂O₄ is fired to higher temperatures. The discharge capacity of LiMn₂O₄ increases from 84 to 117 mAh/g as the calcination temperature increases from 300 to 500°C. The LiMn₂O₄ powders calcined at low temperatures with a high specific surface area and an average valence of manganese exhibit a better cycle life.