Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SA6-P133
STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LiM0.5Mn1.5O4±δ (M = Ni AND
Co) NANOSTRUCTURES SYNTHESIZED BY THE THERMAL
DECOMPOSITION OF NITRATES ULTRASOUND ASSISTED (DTN-
UA) METHOD
Daniela Alburquenque 1 , Loreto Troncoso 2 , Juan Escrig 1
1
Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Física, Chile. 2 Universidad Austral de Chile, Instituto de
Materiales, Chile.
The transition metal oxides show interesting electrochemical and surface
properties that make them promising for several energy devices [1]. Lithium-ion
batteries (BLi) have been commercially successful for use in applications related
to electric vehicles [2]. In particular, the cathodes of LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4
with spinel structure have been the most studied for BLi [3,4]. The performance
of the oxides as electrodes depends on the purity, composition, structure and
morphology since all these factors can modify the ionic transport. It is well
known that the synthesis method to prepare these materials plays a
fundamental role, since the different morphologies and sizes obtained different
synthesis routes produce different electrochemical behaviors, modifying their
behavior as electrodes [5]. On the one hand, numerous synthesis methods
require high calcination temperatures and long synthesis times, transforming
them into expensive methods, so that conventional methods of soft chemistry
are frequently. In addition, the search for innovations necessary to produce the
transition to clean energy economies is one of the main challenges in this field.
In general, cathodes are made with transition metals that are toxic to the
environment. In this context, the sonochemical methods, and in particular the
ultrasonic synthesis (US), promise to open a new route for the manufacture of
low cost and environmentally acceptable nanostructures [6]. The ultrasonic
synthesis can be used for the production of new materials and provides an
unusual route to obtain materials without using high temperatures and
pressures, nor prolonged reaction times. In this work, LiM0.5Mn1.5O4±δ (M = Ni
and/or Co) oxides crystallized in the cubic structure of the Fd3m space group
were successfully synthesized by the sol-gel ultrasound assisted method (UASG)
and a subsequent heating to 800 °C [7,8]. X-ray diffraction (XRD, Rietveld
refinement) and SEM images show that the prepared oxides consist of irregular
polyhedra with sizes less than 500 nm.