Influence of different raw materials on the preparation of single-crystal LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 by sol-gel method

Recently, due to the escalating cost of cobalt, there has been a growing interest in the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) cathode material, prompting efforts to enhance its performance in various aspects. However, there is a lack of research regarding the influence of raw materials used in the sol-gel method for LNMO preparation on the properties of the resulting product. In this study, we employed acetates, chlorides, and nitrates as raw materials and utilized a simple sol-gel approach to synthesize three types of single-crystal LNMO particles. Characterization of the material structures of these three samples revealed that LNMO prepared from acetates exhibited the highest concentration of oxygen vacancies (OVs) and demonstrated a more disordered structure, as well as better high-temperature stability. Scanning electron microscopy observations also indicated distinct differences in particle morphologies among samples prepared from different raw materials. The LNMO sample synthesized from acetates showed exceptional electrochemical performance. It achieved an initial coulombic efficiency of 85.62 % and a specific capacity of 111.19 mA h g–1, retaining 93.28 % of its capacity after 500 cycles at a 1 C rate.