Sodium storage capability of spinel Li₄Mn₅O₁₂

Spinel Li₄Mn₅O₁₂, a well-known 3 V Li-ion battery (LIB) material with excellent cycling stability and good rate capability, is examined as Na-ion battery (NIB) cathode for the first time. Electrochemical studies clearly show that Na ions can be reversibly inserted into and extracted from the three-dimensional spinel structure. However, unlike in LIB, the available capacity in NIB is strongly dependent on the particle size and current rate due to the sluggish Na-ion transport in solid phase. Cycle performance of Li₄Mn₅O₁₂ in NIB is also inferior to that in LIB. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction study indicates a gradual loss of crystallinity with cycling, and that the crystal lattice undergoes an irreversible expansion during the initial 20 cycles. Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy shows a decrease of Li/Mn ratio in Li₄Mn₅O₁₂ with cycling. The results suggest that Li ions are removed from the material during the charging process. The charge-discharge mechanism is also discussed in the paper.