Hydrothermal Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of MnCo2O4 Nanoparticles as Anode Material in Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, nanosized MnCo2O4 was prepared by the hydrothermal method. The crystalline phase, the morphology, and the valences of the elements in the obtained samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and x-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), respectively. XRD showed that the prepared samples have spinel structure. The particle sizes of the prepared powder were in the range of 10 nm to 20 nm. XPS showed the valences of Mn and Co to be +4 and +2, respectively. Charge-discharge testing of the MnCo2O4 as the anode for lithium-ion batteries was carried out at 0.2 mA cm(-2) from 0.0 V to 3.0 V. The first discharge capacity reached 1448 mAh g(-1), demonstrating the great potential of MnCo2O4 as anode material in lithium-ion batteries.