High Performance LiMn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Cathode
Materials Grown with Epitaxial Layered Nanostructure for Li-Ion Batteries
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Abstract
Tremendous research works have been
done to develop better cathode
materials for a large scale battery to be used for electric vehicles
(EVs). Spinel LiMn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> has been considered as
the most promising cathode among the many candidates due to its advantages
of high thermal stability, low cost, abundance, and environmental
affinity. However, it still suffers from the surface dissolution of
manganese in the electrolyte at elevated temperature, especially above
60 °C, which leads to a severe capacity fading. To overcome this
barrier, we here report an imaginative material design; a novel heterostructure
LiMn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> with epitaxially grown layered (<i>R</i>3̅<i>m</i>) surface phase. No defect was
observed at the interface between the host spinel and layered surface
phase, which provides an efficient path for the ionic and electronic
mobility. In addition, the layered surface phase protects the host
spinel from being directly exposed to the highly active electrolyte
at 60 °C. The unique characteristics of the heterostructure LiMn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> phase exhibited a discharge capacity of 123
mAh g<sup>–1</sup> and retained 85% of its initial capacity
at the elevated temperature (60 °C) after 100 cycles