Review of Cathode Material LiMn_2O4 for Lithium Ion Batteries

Spinel LiMn2O4 has been considered to be the most promising alternative cathode material for the new generation of lithium ion batteries in terms of its low cost, non-toxicity and easy manufacture. However, the capacity fading rapidly upon charge/ discharge cycling, especially at the high working temperature (55℃), hinders its commercial application. Over the past decade much work has been devoted to the spinel LiMn2O4 and its several fading mechanisms have been proposed such as Jahn-Teller distortion, dissolution of Mn2+ into electrolyte, electrolyte decomposition and transformation of cubic to unstable tetragonal phase, etc. Its capacity retention could be improved much by doping, surface coating and improving preparation technique. The recent developments in cathode material LiMn2O4 have been reviewed in this paper based on the recent results in our research group.