The composite rods of MnO and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as anode materials for lithium ion batteries

The composite of manganese monoxide and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MnO/MWNTs) is prepared hydrothermally by MWNTs and KMnO4 followed with a sintering process. After reducing KMnO4 as the reductant, the leftover MWNTs are found randomly distributed in the final MnO rods forming a conducting network. More importantly, they can buffer the volume change of MnO during lithium incorporation/extraction. As a result, the rate capability and cycling performance of MnO as an anode material for lithium ion batteries are significantly improved. The MnO/MWNTs composite shows a reversible capacity as high as 770.6 mA h g(-1) and 455.3 mA h g(-1) at the current density of 7.21 mA g(-1) and 310.23 mA g(-1) respectively between 0.01 and 3.5 V (vs. Li/Li+ hereafter). Furthermore, the capacity retention is over 92.4% after 200 cycles at 216.14 mA g(-1) between 0.01 and 3.0 V. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.