High specific surface area LiMn2O4 powder prepared by citric acid gel process

In the present work, lithium manganese oxide, Li2O . yMnO(2) (y greater than or equal to 2.5) powder was synthesized at low temperature by citric acid gel process using lithium acetate and manganese acetate as the sources of lithium and manganese. Pure and stoichiometric Li2Mn4O9 powder had been synthesized at temperatures as low as 200 degrees C and the structure of the crystalline compounds was found to be cubic spinel which lattice parameter and full width at half maximum (FWHM) were sensitive to calcination temperature. The specific surface area of LiMn2O4 powder with 11.6 m(2)/g is higher than that prepared by pechini process. From the SEM studies, the powder prepared at low temperature is the porous structure due to the liberation of CO2 and H2O from the decomposition of organic material. The average particle size of LiMn2O4 powder calcined at 800 degrees C for 24 hours is about 0.5 mu m with narrow particle-size distribution. In summary, low-temperature citric acid gel processes were successfully used to synthesize stoichiometric, pure, nano-sized, round LiMn2O4 powders with high specific surface area and excellent crystallinity.