Kyushu University Global COE Program
Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences, Vol. 3, pp. 27-31, Feb. 2011

Symmetric Cell with LiMn2O4 for Aqueous Lithium-ion Battery
Sun-Il Park*1, Shigeto Okada*2, Jun-ichi Yamaki*2*1Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Science, Kyushu University*2
Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University(Received December 20, 2010; accepted January 31, 2011)

The electrochemical characteristics of LiMn 2O4 in aqueous electrolyte solutions have been investigated withrespect to its use as both the cathode and anode active materials in a new type rechargeable battery system. The results of cyclic voltammetry show that LiMn 2O4 reversibly intercalated/deintercalated Li+ ions at potentials below thepotentials of hydrogen and oxygen evolution in a neutral aqueous solution. Thus, it could be used as both the cathodeand anode in an aqueous battery system without causing the electrolysis of water. The capacity obtained by this cellsystem is about 110 mAh/g, based on the mass of the cathode, and the rate capability in the aqueous electrolyte wassuperior to that in organic electrolyte. This new technology solves some major problems of safety, cost and conductivity connected with organic electrolyte and will provide a new strategy to explore advanced energy storage andconversion systems.

1. Introduction

The exhaustion of fossil fuel and the actualizing global
warming have strongly encouraged us to search forenergy alternatives. A Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) andElectric Vehicle (EV) are significant topics addressing
the above problems, and much effort has been devoted toresearch on advanced batteries for HEV/EVs1-9). A lithium
ion battery (LIB) with the highest energy density is oneof the strongest battery candidates for HEV/EVs on thesecondary battery market. However, a total replacementof ignition engines with secondary LIB in the automotive
industry is hampered by severe problems such as safety,
cost performance and rate capability. LIB contains
flammable organic electrolytes, which might cause theproduction of intense smoke or even fire in the case ofimproper use such as overcharging or short-circuiting. In
addition, the use of costly organic electrolytes and strict
humidity control of the assembling environment makes
LIB comparatively expensive, and the ion conductivityof the organic electrolytes is generally much lower
than that of aqueous electrolytes. There is a clear needfor less expensive and environmentally benign energy
storage materials and devices, such as a rechargeable
lithium ion battery capable of operating with an aqueous
electrolyte10-17).
The most important item to consider in the development is the proper selection of cathode and anode active
materials, due to the decomposition of water. An aqueous
LIB has been utilized with LiMn2O4 and VO2 as electrodematerials and 5 mol/dm3 LiNO3 in water as the electrolyte14,15). Since this first report, about 15 papers dedicatedto the aqueous LIB have been published. Four -volt classcathodes such as LiMn2O4 were used in most of these batteries. As candidates for the electrode material, the LiMn2O4
is attractive for many reasons, including its rare-metal-freecomposition, low cost and abundance as a resource aswell as the fact that it causes no environmental pollution.
In this study, we report on the performance of an aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion cell with LiMn2O4. Fig. 1 shows therelationship between the potential of several common Li
intercalation compounds and the stability limits versus
pH for water. The potentials are compared to both Ag/Fig. 1 Electrochemical stability window for water and lithium reaction potential for several materials in a lithium-ion
battery.

Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences, Vol.3, Feb. 2011

AgCl potential and Li/Li+ potential. At potentials above
the stability window of water, oxygen can be generated,
whereas at potentials below the stability window, hydrogen
evolution can occur (due to an overpotential at the electrodes,
the actual evolution potentials of H2 and O2 can be shiftedto lower and higher values, respectively, and the cell can beoperated at a higher voltage). It is obvious that LiMn2O4 is asuitable candidate for the cathode and anode material in theaqueous cell.
The aqueous lithium ion cell with LiMn2O4 as both thecathode and anode was first considered by Li et al15). The
benefit of the spinel LiMn2O4 comes from the two voltage
plateaus at 3 and 4 V vs. Li that the material possesses, bothof them located in the electrochemical window of aqueouselectrolyte. Therefore, LiMn2O4 could be utilized as both thecathode and anode in such an aqueous cell. However, to thebest of our knowledge, there are no detailed experimental results published in scientific literature concerning the charge/
discharge profile and the cell performances of a Li1-xMn2O4//
Li1+xMn2O4 aqueous symmetric cell. We focused on the performance of the aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion cell with
LiMn2O4.

2. Experimental

The sol-gel process was adopted for the synthesis ofLiMn2O418). Stoichiometric amounts of CH3COOLi∙
2H2O (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., Japan)and (CH3COO)2Mn∙4H2O (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., Japan)
with the cationic ratio of Li:Mn = 1:2 were dissolved in
distilled water and mixed well with an aqueous solutionof adipic acid (Kanto chemical Co. Inc., Japan). Adipic
acid was used as a chelating agent to produce a gel in themolar ratio of adipic acid to total metal ions of 1:1. The
solution was evaporated at 90 oC, and after 12 h a transparent sol was obtained. The resultant sol was additionally dried at 90-100 oC for 24 h in a vacuum dryer to yieldgel precursors. These gel precursors were consequently
decomposed at 300 oC for 10 h in air to eliminate organic
contents. The decomposed powders were ground and calcined at 800 oC for 10 h in air to obtain highly crystalline LiMn 2O4 powders. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD,Rigaku, RINT 2100HLR/PC) with CuKα radiation wasused to examine the crystalline phase of the prepared material from 2θ = 10o-80o at a 2.0 o/s scan rate. Electrodes
for the electrochemical studies were fabricated with active material, acetylene black (Denki Kagaku Co.) as theconducting additive and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFEDaikin Industries, Ltd.) as the binder at a weight ratio of
70:25:5 for the cathode and anode, respectively.
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was accomplished using athree-electrode cell in a 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 solution, withplatinum and a silver-silver chloride electrode (Ag/AgCl,
E = 0.222 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode, NHE) as
the counter and reference electrodes, respectively. CV
was performed using a Voltalab potentiostat Model PGZ402 electrochemical interface, controlled by a computer.
Galvanostatic discharge and charge tests were carriedout with a cycler (NAGANO BTS-2004W) at a constantcurrent density. The cathode (about 30 mg) and anodeelectrode disks were punched into Ni mesh and immersed

in 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 solution; the distance between theelectrodes was kept at about 1 cm. The electrochemical
properties of Li1-x Mn 2O4//Li1+x Mn 2O4 were also tested
in an organic electrolyte cell by using a 1 mol/dm3
LiPF6/EC:DMC (1:1 vol%) electrolyte. All electricalmeasurements were performed at ambient temperature.

3. Results and discussion

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of as- synthesized crystalline LiMn 2O4 is shown in Fig. 2. The
synthesized LiMn 2O4 powder was indexed as the spinel
phase belonging to the Fd3m space group, where Liatoms occupy tetragonal 8a sites, Mn atoms occupy
octahedral 16d sites and O atoms occupy 32e sites, respectively. The crystal lattice parameter (a = 8.239 Å)
was close to that of stoichiometric LiMn 2O4 spinel (8.245Å)19), and the XRD pattern was consistent with ICDD- 350782. The cyclic voltammogram of the current collector,a Ni mesh electrode, was measured in 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4solution and is shown in Fig. 3. The potential window ofwater was determined based on the electrolysis potential,
which means the H2 and O2 evolution at the negative andpositive potentials, respectively. In an aqueous system, theH2 and O2 gas evolution occur according to the followingequations20).
2H2O + 2e- → H2 + 2OH-, E0 (pH = 7) = -0.65 V vs. SCE (1)2H2O → O2 + 4H+ + 4e-, E0 (pH = 7) = +0.58 V vs. SCE (2)Fig. 2

XRD pattern of LiMn 2O4.

Fig. 3 Cyclic voltammogram for Ni electrode in 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 aqueous solution (scan rate 10 mV/s).

Symmetric Cell with LiMn2O4 for Aqueous Lithium-ion Battery

The theoretically stable voltage limit is 1.23 V. In thecase of 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 solution, two peaks should beobserved, the positive-going peak at about 1.5 V (versusAg/AgCl) and the negative-going one at about -1.0 V
corresponding to O2 and H2 generation, respectively.
Therefore, the stable electrochemical window of thesolution is about 2.5 V, which is much larger than that ofpure water (1.23 V), due to large overpotentials. Therefore,
the materials used as electrodes in aqueous electrolytes
must maintain excellent stability during the electrochemical
process in a water-based lithium salt solution. The cyclic
voltammograms of the prepared LiMn 2O4 electrode in
2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 aqueous electrolyte at a scan rate of
0.5 mV/s over a voltage range of -1.0 to 1.5 V are shownin Fig. 4. Cyclic voltammetry revealed three anodic/
cathodic peak couples. The first two pairs of redox
peaks, located at 0.8/0.68 and 0.89/1.02 V (average redox
potentials of 0.74 and 0.96 V vs. Ag/AgCl), respectively,
were observed, due to intercalation/deintercalation oflithium ions from/into the manganese spinel phase21-23),
indicating that the oxidation and reduction of LiMn 2O4,
occurs as shown in the following equation:
LiMn 2O4 = Li1-x Mn 2O4 + xLi+ + xe- (0 < x < 1)

(3)

The other pair of redox peaks, located at -0.45 and 0.01
V (redox potential vs. Ag/AgCl), were also due to the Liion intercalation and deintercalation, indicating that thesubsequent reduction and oxidation of LiMn 2O4 occur asshown in the following equation:
LiMn 2O4 + xLi+ + xe- = Li1+x Mn 2O4

We performed galvanostatic cycling experiments
to evaluate the behavior of LiMn 2O4 in an aqueous
electrolyte containing 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 solution. A
floating three-electrode configuration, which consistedof a Pt counter electrode, an Ag/AgCl reference electrode and a LiMn 2O4 working electrode, was employed
to characterize the electrochemical behaviors of a cathode. When the anode behavior of the electrode was examined, LiMn 2O4 was also used as a counter electrode.
In this case, LiMn 2O4 acted as a reversible lithium source
analogous to the lithium metal employed in the half cells,
assembled with the organic electrolyte when the electrochemical behaviors of the individual electrodes werestudied. Fig. 5 shows typical charge/discharge profiles ofindividual electrode vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode. As
a result of half-cell tests of the cathode and anode, theinitial discharge capacities estimated were 104 and 112
mAh/g, respectively. It specified reversible intercalationand deintercalation of lithium ions in the aqueous electrolyte without the evolution of oxygen and hydrogen forboth electrodes. Furthermore, the average voltage of afull cell could be predicted from the results of individual
half cell tests. The potentials of the cathode (LiMn 2O4)
were 0.87 and 0.71 V vs. Ag/AgCl at the charge anddischarge, correspondingly. In the case of the anode(LiMn2O4), potentials were located at -0.29 and -0.18 V
vs. Ag/AgCl at the charge and discharge, respectively.
Hence we could estimate that the charge and dischargepotentials of the full cell should appear at 1.16 and 0.89
V, respectively.

(4)

For that reason, insertion/extraction of Li ions from thehosts before the evolution of oxygen and hydrogen ispossible. The evolution of oxygen and hydrogen occur
at about EAg/AgCl = 1.3 and -1.1 V, respectively which confirms that LiMn 2O4 is stable in the aqueous electrolyte
during the Li-ion intercalation and deintercalation. Accordingly, an aqueous rechargeable lithium ion battery(ARLB) can be prepared by using this sort of intercalation compound as both the anode and cathode electrodes.
An inexpensive salt such as Li2SO4 can be used to replace
the expensive LiPF6 used in organic lithium ion batteries.
In addition, the dry environment needed during themanufacturing of lithium ion batteries can be avoided.

Fig. 5 Charge and discharge profiles of (a) cathode
LiMn 2O4 and (b) anode LiMn 2O4 in 2 mol/dm3
Li2SO4 aqueous solution.

Fig. 4 Cyclic voltammogram of LiMn 2O4 in 2 mol/dm3
Li2SO4 aqueous solution with a scanning rate of
0.5 mV/s.

The charge/discharge performance of the Li1-x Mn 2O4//
Li1+x Mn 2O4 cell with aqueous electrolyte has been determined at a current density of 50 mA/g over a potential range between 0.5 and 1.3 V, and the capacity wascalculated based on the weight of the cathode active
material. In the above-mentioned equations 3 and 4,
during charging, the lithium ions were extracted fromthe LiMn 2O4 cathode host, forming Li1-x Mn 2O4, andinserted into the LiMn 2O4 anode, changing the composition to Li1+x Mn 2O4. In contrast, during discharge, lithium
ions were extracted from the anode and inserted into thecathode. According to the potentials of both the cathodeand anode electrodes, the cell should have a terminal
voltage near 1.0 V. The charge/discharge profile is shownin Fig. 6. The initial capacity delivered was 110 mAh/g

Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences, Vol.3, Feb. 2011

with 88% columbic efficiency. The average charge anddischarge voltages were 1.1 and 0.9 V, respectively.
For comparison with the electrochemical behaviorsof spinel LiMn 2O4, we performed the same experimentwith the organic electrolyte composition 1 mol/dm3
LiPF6/EC:DMC (1:1 vol%) commonly used in non-aqueous LIBs. The cycling tests were carried out at various
current densities. Fig. 7 shows the rate capability of Li1x Mn 2O4 //Li1+x Mn 2O4 with dependence on the electrolytecomposition. The symmetric cell with LiMn 2O4 usingorganic electrolyte shows good cycling performance at acurrent density of 0.2 mA/cm 2. However, with increased
current density, the advantages of an aqueous electrolyte
became obvious. The symmetric spinel LiMn 2O4 cellwith aqueous electrolyte shows superior rate capability
compared to that with organic electrolyte. At the current
density higher than 1.0 mA/cm 2, the capability of theorganic electrolyte clearly decreased rapidly, while that of
the aqueous electrolyte showed smooth changes. These
results are supported by the superior ionic conductivityof aqueous electrolytes, which is usually two orders ofmagnitude higher than that of organic electrolytes. Fig. 8
shows the cycling behavior at 50 A/cm 2 between 0.5 and
1.3 V. Approximately 55 % of the maximum discharge
capacity delivered on the first cycle was maintained afteran additional 30 cycles. Naturally, capacity fades, but thiscan be slowed by adjusting the electrolyte composition
by, for example, supplying different additives, modifying
the electrode surface or controlling the pH, which will be
the object of the next phase of our research.

Fig. 6 Charge and discharge profile of Li1-x Mn 2O4//
Li1+x Mn 2O4 with 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 aqueoussolution.

Fig. 8Cyclability of symmetric cell with LiMn 2O4
with 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 aqueous solution at
50mA/cm 2.

4. Conclusions

The electrochemical characteristics of LiMn 2O4 usedas both the cathode and the anode in a symmetric cellwere studied in 2 mol/dm3 Li2SO4 aqueous electrolytewith respect to its use as a new kind of rechargeable
battery system. Cyclic voltammetry showed that spinel LiMn 2O4 reversibly intercalated/deintercalated Li+ions at potentials far below the potentials of hydrogenand oxygen evolution in an aqueous solution with pH=7.
The symmetric spinel battery delivers about 110 mAh/gdischarge capacity, based on the mass of the cathodeelectrode. It is important that the rate capability of theLiMn 2O4 with aqueous electrolyte was found to be preferable to that with organic electrolyte composition. The
pilot results show that the symmetric aqueous electrochemical system has promising characteristics, since thiskind of battery is extremely safe for large-scale energy
storage and conversion. The ionic conductivity of aqueous electrolyte is higher than that of organic electrolyte,
which contributes to the high rate capability. In addition,
the cost of the aqueous cell will be lower than that ofprevious cell designs, because electrode and electrolytematerials are not expensive compared with those used inconventional lithium ion batteries. Furthermore, the assembling process is simple and trouble-free, and it does
not require strict control of humidity and the environment.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by
Global-Centre of Excellence in Novel Carbon Resource
Sciences, Kyushu University.
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Fig. 7 Rate capability of symmetric cell with LiMn 2O4in different electrolyte.

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