Electrochemical Performance of Modified LiMn₂O₄Used as Cathode Material for an Aqueous Rechargeable Lithium Battery

Abstract

To improve the electrochemical performance of cathode material in aqueous LiNO3 solution, modified spinel LiMn2O4 materials prepared with different amounts of sucrose additive are synthesized using a two-step sintering method. The phase structure and morphologies of as-prepared samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Electrochemical performances of modified LiMn2O4 used as the cathode material of the aqueous rechargeable lithium battery (ARLB) are investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge testing. The effects of the carbon, which decomposed from the additive sucrose, on the electrochemical performances of the modified spinel LiMn2O4 cathode for the ARLBs are discussed. In comparison to pristine LiMn2O4, the optimum quantity of sucrose addition improves the electrochemical performance of spinel LiMn2O4 material in an aqueous LiNO3 solution, especially for the addition of 20 wt % sucrose, and its initial discharge specific capacity is 118.3 mAh g–1; moreover, it still has 102.8 mAh g–1 after 40 cycles.