Improvement of electrochemical performance of spherical spinel LiMn 2 O 4 cathode material coated with Al-doped ZnO (AZO) for Li- ion battery

Abstract

Abstract In this work, spherical spinel LiMn2O4 cathode material has been synthesized succesfully. Al-doped ZnO (AZO) materials were coated on the surface of spherical spinel LiMn2O4 cathode by a simple wet chemical method. The amount of the AZO coating materials are 0.0wt%, 0.5wt%, 1.0wt% and 2.0wt%, respectively. On the surface, the AZO coating could work as an artificial barrier and Li+ conductor, inhibiting Mn dissolution and promoting lithium ion migration. The research results show that the electrochemical properties of the modified LiMn2O4 materials are improved. The LiMn2O4 sample coated with 1 wt% AZO demonstrated the best cycle and rate performances, with capacity retention of 96.5% and 88.8% after 100 cycles with 1 C rate at 25°C and 55°C, respectively, and still possessed the discharge specific capacity of 113.9 mAh g-1 at 25°C with thr 5 C rate. It could be concluded that AZO-modified LiMn2O4 material is a viable cathode material for lithium ion batteries.