Preparation and property of normal spinel LiMn2O4

Super-fine powders of normal spinel LiMn2O4 were synthesized by means of EDTA-citric acid (EDTA-CA) chelating method, with the nitrates of lithium and manganese as the starting materials. The precursor of LiMn2O4 and the synthesized LiMn2O4 powders were then characterized by FTIR, TG-DSC, XRD, SEM, TEM and BET measurements. The results show that, when values of nLi:nMn and nMn+Li:nEDTA+CA are respectively 0.6 and 1:2, normal spinel LiMn2O4 with slight agglomeration can be synthesized after a calcination for 4 h at 600°C, and the BET specific surface area is 7.9948 m2/g with diameter being as small as 40 nm. It is also found that the largest lithium adsorption capacity of the leached LiMn2O4 reaches up to 5.3 mmol/g.