Intrinsic mechanisms for structural coherency and electrochemical excellence in layered-spinel Li–Mn–O cathodes

Abstract

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries rises in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage industries, there is both an opportunity and a need to innovate the cathode materials. Manganese-rich metal oxide cathodes have the potential to replace state-of-the-art cobalt- and nickel-rich layered electrode systems, which rely on metals that are scarce, high-cost, toxic, and unsafe. One approach is to use structurally compatible, manganese-based components such as layered Li2MnO3 and spinel Li1+yMn2−yO4 to reduce the Co and Ni content, thereby stabilizing lithium- and manganese-rich with nickel–manganese–cobalt (LMR-NMC) electrodes. A current study reports a detailed structural investigation of the baseline “layered-spinel” system xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)Li1+yMn2−yO4 (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.33) using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution Raman spectroscopy. This provides insights into the complexity of this system and reveals clues that may assist in improving the electrochemical properties and stability of structurally integrated “layered-layered-spinel” LMR-NMC electrodes for high-energy lithium-ion battery systems.

Graphical abstract: Intrinsic mechanisms for structural coherency and electrochemical excellence in layered-spinel Li–Mn–O cathodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Apr 2025
Accepted
21 Jun 2025
First published
26 Jun 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

EES Batteries, 2025, Advance Article

Intrinsic mechanisms for structural coherency and electrochemical excellence in layered-spinel Li–Mn–O cathodes

J. Gim, J. Han, H. Kim, Q. Li, J. Wu, V. P. Dravid and E. Lee, EES Batteries, 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5EB00072F

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