Synthesis and electrochemical performances of spinel LiCr0.1Ni0.4Mn1.5O4 compound

The spinel compound LiCr0.1Ni0.4Mn1.5O4 was synthesized by a solid reaction method and a sol–gel method using citric acid as chelating agent. The pure phase LiCr0.1Ni0.4Mn1.5O4 was obtained by the wet method. The electrochemical performances of the pure phase sample were measured at different current rates. There were three voltage plateaus at about 4.9, 4.7 and 4.0 V in the charge–discharge curves, which were attributed to the oxidation/reduction of chromium, nickel and manganese respectively. In the range of 3.5–5.0 V, its first discharge capacity was 143, 118 and 111 mAh/g corresponding to current densities of 1.0, 4.0 and 5.0 mA/cm2, respectively. After 50 cycles, the capacity retention remained well at the current densities of 1.0, 4.0 and 5.0 mA/cm2. The electrochemical performances of pure phase LiCr0.1Ni0.4Mn1.5O4 at 55 °C was also measured, and the results were discussed.