Novel method to enhance the cycling performance of spinel LiMn₂O₄

In this study, a novel method was presented to improve the cycle performance of the spinel LiMn₂O₄ This method is quite different from the traditional way of coating LiMn₂O₄ particle itself with inorganic and organic compounds. First we covered the current collector with the mixture of LiMn₂O₄ particle, conductive agents and binders, and then deposited an aluminum film onto it by means of vacuum evaporation. The pure electrode and the modified electrode were investigated using a combination of scanning electron microscope (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge-discharge tests. The enhancement of the capacity retention of modified electrode is significant, maintaining 93.5% of the maximum capacity after 200 cycles at charge-discharge rate of C/2, while pure electrode only 63.7%. It was found that the improvement of cycling performance is greatly ascribed to the good electrical conductivity of aluminum film deposited on the surface of spinel LiMn₂O₄.