Layered cobalt cathodes suffer from severe supply-chain bottlenecks and thermal instability; spinel manganese dioxide provides a three-dimensional cubic lattice that shuttles lithium ions safely without cobalt. Discovered as a novel synthetic method in 1981, Hunter’s spinel crystal is now the ethical foundation of low-cost electric vehicle and grid batteries.
As the world transitions toward electric transport and large-scale renewable power grids, the battery industry is constrained by the extreme financial and human costs of mined cobalt. Standard layered batteries remain vulnerable to thermal fires when pushed to fast-charging limits.
In 1981, solid-state chemist J.C. Hunter discovered how to hollow out abundant manganese ore into a three-dimensional atomic jungle gym. Instead of flat layers that collapse under stress, the manganese crystal creates a rigid 3D framework that allows lithium ions to sprint in all directions simultaneously during fast charging.
This dormant crystal blueprint provides an ethical, fire-safe battery cathode. By eliminating reliance on scarce cobalt mines, by slashing battery cathode costs by seventy percent, and by delivering exceptional thermal safety, spinel manganese powers sustainable electric transport.
Mechanism of lithium(1+) insertion in spinel-type manganese oxide. Redox and ion-exchange reactions
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTMechanism of lithium(1+) insertion in spinel-type manganese oxide. Redox and ion-exchange reactionsKenta Ooi, Yoshitaka Miyai, and Jitsuo SakakiharaCite this: Langmuir 1991, 7, 6, 1167–1171Publication Date (Print):June 1, 1991Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 June 1991https://doi.org/10.1021/la00054a025Request reuse permissionsArticle Views859Altmetric-Citations87LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (575 KB) Get e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts
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