Mesoporous silica-assisted carbon free Li2MnSiO4 cathode nanoparticles for high capacity Li rechargeable batteries

Porous and spherical Li2MnSiO4 nanoparticles have been synthesized through a facile sol-gel route via a mesoporous silica template. Galvanostatic charge-discharge of the resultant Li2MnSiO4 cathode exhibits enhanced charge-discharge capacity relative to that of particles prepared by the conventional sol-gel process, up to 25% in discharge capacity, even without any particulate process such as milling with conductive agents. The standout electrochemical performance could be attributed to the unique high surface-to-volume ratio, porous geometry and improved accommodation of transformation strains during the electrochemical lithiation-delithiation process.