NMR and FT-IR Investigation of Spinel LiMn2O4 Cathode Prepared by the Tartaric Acid Gel Process

The structure of the lithium manganese tartrate precursor and the synthesis mechanism of LiMn2O4 were investigated by FT-IR, NMR, TG/DSC, and XRD in this study. The results of FT-IR and 7Li and 13C NMR measurements revealed that lithium ions bond with carboxylic acid ligands and the O–H stretching modes of tartaric acid. Manganese ion bonds only with carboxylic acid. Lithium and manganese ions were trapped homogeneously on an atomic scale throughout the precursor. Such a structure eliminates the need for long-range diffusion during the formation of lithium manganese oxides. Therefore, spinel LiMn2O4 was synthesized at temperatures as low as 300°C. In this work, the electrochemical properties of Li/LixMn2O4 were studied. It is clear that the discharge curves exhibit two pseudo plateaus as the LiMn2O4 is fired to higher temperatures. The discharge capacity of LiMn2O4 increases from 84 to 117 mAh/g as the calcination temperature increases from 300 to 500°C. The LiMn2O4 powders calcined at low temperatures with a high specific surface area and an average valence of manganese exhibit a better cycle life.