Boosting the cycling performance of spinel LiMn2O4 by in situ MnBO3 coating

Spinel LiMn 2 O 4 (LMO) is a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its low cost, high safety, and high energy density. However, surface dissolution of manganese and irreversible phase transitions reduce its long-term cycling performance. Although surface coating is a promising strategy for improving the structural stability of LMO, the commonly used coating process is tedious and complicated. In this work, a one-step sintering process is developed to prepare LMO materials coated in situ with MnBO 3 . It is found that the MnBO 3 layer formed in this way is uniformly coated on the surface of LMO, and effectively suppresses Mn dissolution and undesirable phase transition during repeated charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, the MnBO 3 -coated LMO has improved electrode kinetics, demonstrating significantly improved rate performance compared to the pristine LMO. As a result, the optimized LMO sample exhibits 85.2% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 1 C and still can deliver 96 mAh g −1 , even at 5 C. This work proposes a facile and efficient coating strategy for improving the electrochemical performance of LMO as a cathode material for LIBs.