Electrochemical properties of spinel LiCoxMn2−xO4 prepared by sol–gel process

Spinel LiCoxMn2−xO4 powder was synthesized by sol–gel method. The influence of Co content on the structure and electrochemical properties was investigated by XRD, SEM and charge–discharge experiments. The results show that, with the increase of cobalt content, the initial discharge special capacity of LiCoxMn2−xO4 decreases slightly, but the cyclic performance is improved obviously resulting from the improvement of structure stability. In addition, low-temperature tempering is beneficial to the increase of discharge special capacity of LiCoxMn2−xO4. Comprehensively special capacity and cycling performance, at the current density of 0.1 mA/cm2 and cutoff voltage of 3.5–4.4 V, LiCo0.1Mn1.9O4 powder possesses the initial and stable discharge capacity of 123 and 113 mAh/g after 20 cycles, respectively.