Highly porous LiMnPO4 in combination with an ionic liquid-based polymer gel electrolyte for lithium batteries

A porous well defined LiMnPO4 cathode material is synthesized by a sol-gel method. The electrochemical performance of the cathode material is evaluated in a cell with an ionic liquid-based polymer electrolyte (0.5 M LITFSI in EMlmTFSI) and a lithium metal electrode. The results are compared to a cell with a traditional organic carbonate-based electrolyte (1 M LiPF6 in EC/DMC). The cell with the ionic liquid-based polymer electrolyte presents an enhanced electrochemical intercalation performance of lithium ions, a high electrochemical stability window of 5 V, and an excellent cycling ability as compared with the organic based counterpart. Furthermore, the ionic liquid-based polymer gel electrolyte effectively prevents the dissolution of manganese - otherwise a common problem. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.