Improvement of electrochemical performance of spherical spinel LiMn2O4 cathode material coated with Al-doped ZnO (AZO) for Li-ion battery

In this work, spherical spinel LiMn 2 O 4 cathode material has been synthesized successfully. Al-doped ZnO (AZO) materials were coated on the surface of spherical spinel LiMn 2 O 4 cathode by a simple wet chemical method. The amount of the AZO coating materials was 0.0 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 1.0 wt%, and 2.0 wt%, 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 LiMn 2 O 4 materials were improved. The LiMn 2 O 4 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 at 1 C, 25 °C and 55 °C, respectively, and still possessed the discharge specific capacity of 113.9 mAh g −1 at 5 C, 25 °C. It could be concluded that AZO-modified LiMn 2 O 4 material is a viable cathode material for lithium ion batteries.