Li-Mn-O Aerogels

The Li-Mn-O materials described were obtained by drying liquid gels at low-surface tension conditions, a process which produces high surface area disordered materials in which the microporous structure can be controlled with simple manipulations of the parent gel. The technique of synthesis is simple, inexpensive, and in general may be applied to other intercalation compounds synthesised via sol-gel routes. The aerogels offer a direct way to study the interconnected solid network assembled by sol-gel processes, which would collapse if processed by normal dehydration. Since the interconnected solid network is preserved in the aerogel, the properties such as high specific surface area and high specific energy observed in the aerogel represent inherent properties of the network formed in the liquid gel stage. Aerogel materials are excellent cathodes for rechargeable lithium batteries. 15 refs.