Lithium manganese oxide, LiMn2O4, was synthesized in two temperature stages, where the first consisted by an ecofriendly solution combustion method at 300 °C. Finally, the as-burned powders were thermal treated at 500 and 700 °C. The structural and morphological changes were evaluated by the Rietveld method and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The Rietveld refinement indicates obtaining the spinel cubic phase LiMn2O4 and a small amount of Mn2O3. The analyses by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show a porous microstructure composed of nano-sized crystallites for the sample treated at 500 °C. In cyclic voltammetry, it was possible to observe that the reduction-oxidation reaction is reversible due to the shape of voltammograms and the anodic and cathodic peaks of Mn ions. The theoretical calculations considered the experimental crystallographic parameters. The unit cell volume change was evaluated according to distinct amounts of lithium ions in the structure. The removal of the Li+ cations from the oxides promotes a volume contraction. Therefore, it was possible to evaluate the participation of the Mn3+ ions in the frontier region between the valence and conduction bands. The density of states (DOS) calculation shows a predominant contribution of the O 2p and Mn 3d orbitals in the frontier orbitals.

Lithium cobalt oxide, LiCoO2, widely used as cathode in lithium ion batteries was synthesized and their structural and electronic properties investigated. The crystalline powders were prepared by the sol-gel method with four complexing agents: citric acid, glycine, starch and gelatin. These syntheses were compared with the blank test (without complexing agent). The X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy allowed the identification of the rhombohedral phase LiCoO2 (R3m) as the only or principal crystalline component in all samples. A small fraction of a second phase of cubic spinel Co3O4 was observed in the samples of starch, gelatin and the blank test. The Rietveld refinements showed small structural variations, indicating reduced influence of the complexing agents on the synthesis. The theoretical HOMO-LUMO (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) gap values are in agreement to those estimated by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed morphological pattern regardless of the complexing agent used, showing an alternative method.

A afinidade do cátion Li+ para uma série de ligantes fosforila, carbonila, imino e tiocarbonila substituídos na posição para de um anel aromático foi calculada com os métodos ab initio MP2/6-311+G(d,p), DFT B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) e semi-empírico PM6. Cada série de ligante é constituída pelos seguintes grupos substituídos na posição para: NH2, OCH3, CH3, H, Cl, CN and NO2. A entalpia de interação foi calculada para quantificar a afinidade dos ligantes para o cátion Li+. Parâmetros geométricos e eletrônicos foram correlacionados com a força da interação metal-ligante. A natureza eletrônica dos grupos substituintes é o principal parâmetro que modula a intensidade da ligação metal-ligante. Grupos doadores de elétrons tornam a entalpia de interação mais exotérmica, enquanto grupos aceptores de elétrons tornam a entalpia de interação menos exotérmica. Análise da decomposição da energia mostra que os grupos substituintes modulam a intensidade da componente eletrostática da interação sem afetar a componente covalente.

The affinity of the Li+ cation for a set of para-substituted phosphoryl, carbonyl, imino and thiocarbonyl ligands was calculated with the ab initio MP2/6-311+G(d,p), DFT B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) and semi-empirical PM6 methods. Each set of ligand is constituted by the following para-substituted groups: NH2, OCH3, CH3, H, Cl, CN and NO2. The interaction enthalpy was calculated to quantify the affinity of the ligands for the Li+ cation. Geometric and electronic parameters were correlated with the strength of the metal-ligand interaction. The electronic nature of the para-substituted group is the main parameter that modulates the intensity of the metal-ligand binding energy. Electron donor groups make the interaction enthalpy more exothermic, whereas electron acceptor groups make the interaction enthalpy less exothermic. The energy decomposition analysis shows that the para-substituted groups modulate the intensity of the electrostatic component of the interaction without affecting the covalent component.