Preparation of spherical spinel LiMn2O4 cathode material for Li-ion batteries

A novel process was proposed for synthesis of spinel LiMn2O4 with spherical particles from cheap materials of MnSO4, NaOH, oxalic acid, citric acid and Li2CO3. Its successful preparation started with a carefully controlled crystallization of Mn3O4, leading to the spherical shape of its particles and a high tap density. The mixture of Mn3O4 and Li2CO3 was sintered to produce LiMn2O4 with spherical particle size retention. The spherical particles of spinel LiMn2O4 were of excellent fluidity and dispersivity, and had tap density as high as 1.9 g cm−3 and the initial discharge capacity reaching 116 mAh g−1. Its 20th cycle capacity kept to be 111 mAh g−1.