Partly substituted and non-substituted spinels were synthesized at temperatures of between 350 and 450C. It was found that the inclusion of Cr ions in the cubic spinel structure was especially effective in catalyzing its formation at low temperatures. A spinel with the composition, LiMn2-xCrxO4.35 (where x ranged from 0.2 to 0.4), prepared at 350 to 370C, had a defect structure of low crystallinity and high surface area. Analogous spinels which had been prepared at 450C, with or without Cr, were inferior. It was noted that the coefficient for Li+ diffusion in the Cr-containing spinel (1.1 x 10-9 to 1.6 x 10-9 cm2/s) was higher than that (4.8 x 10-11cm2/s) for the non-substituted material.

G.Pistoia, G.Wang, C.Wang: Solid State Ionics, 1992, 58[3-4], 285-92