Engineering MnO/C microsphere for enhanced lithium storage

Designing an anode material with high energy density is the crucial premise for the high-performance lithium-ions batteries (LIBs), however, it remains a formidable challenge. Hence, we synthesize microsphere-like MnO/C composite through successive hydrothermal process and annealing treatment. Benefiting from the introduction of conductive carbon, the conductivity of the as-prepared MnO/C composite can be obviously enhanced and the mechanical stress generated from the repetitive expansion/shrinkage during charge/discharge process can be effectively relieved, which can greatly facilitate the rate property and cycling stability of electrode. Therefore, the as-prepared microsphere-like MnO/C composite exhibits remarkable electrochemical performance when served as anode material for LIBs (1524.1 mAh g(-1) after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g(-1) and 1366.3 mAh g(-1) after 250 cycles even at 1 A g(-1)). This work proves the great potential of microsphere-like MnO/C composite as high performance anode material for LIBs. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The synthesized microsphere-like MnO/C composite with enhanced conductivity and relieved mechanical stress showed remarkable electrochemical performance as an anode material for LIBs, demonstrating great potential for high performance in terms of rate property and cycling stability.