Tailoring LiMn2O4 intercalation compounds through Sm/Al co-doping: a study on structure and electrochemical performance
摘要
Spinel oxides Li (SmAl)xMn2-xO4 (x = 0–0.05) compounds were synthesized by a sol–gel process by doping samarium (Sm) co-doped with aluminum (Al). The structural and morphological modifications were studied by XRD. The analysis found that every sample was in the cubic spinel phase with (SmAl)0.01 phase pure. At minor doping concentrations, the grain size obtained using the Williamson-Hall and Debye–Scherrer techniques is equivalent. FTIR and Raman vibrational modes confirmed that increasing doping increased Mn–O local distortion, which caused weakened Mn–O lengths. XPS confirmed the dissolution of Mn3+ at x = 0.01 doping of Sm and Al in Mn. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) images show the particle sizes in the range 50–200 nm and that they grew in size when the dopant concentration rose. The interplanar distance of 0.462 nm for (SmAl)0.01 confirms the preservation of the spinel structure and reveals structural changes at the atomic scale. The development of the spinel structure underwent Li⁺ intercalation/deintercalation at a scan rate of 0.5 mV/s within the voltage range of 0.2 to 1.2 V, resulting in two sets of well-separated redox peaks in cyclic voltammetry (CV) investigations. The peak potential difference (ΔE) is 0.11 eV, observed low for (SmAl)0.01, indicating enhanced redox reversibility and faster lithium-ion diffusion kinetics.