Sustainable Graphenothermal Reduction Chemistry to Obtain MnO Nanonetwork Supported Exfoliated Graphene Oxide Composite and its Electrochemical Characteristics

Exfoliated graphene oxide (EG)/manganese(II) oxide (MnO) composite powder is synthesized by simple solid state graphenothermal reduction process. Structural, chemical, and morphological studies confirm the formation of EG/MnO composite in which cubic MnO crystallites are found to anchor onto EG surfaces. The as-synthesized EG/MnO composite is constituted with 65 and 35 wt % of MnO and EG, respectively. The EG/MnO composite exhibits a specific surface area of similar to 82 m(2) g(-1) and an average pore size of similar to 12 nm. As an anode in lithium-ion batteries, the EG/MnO composite shows a high reversible capacity of 936 mAh g(-1) at a current rate of 75 nnA g(-1). Capacity retention of similar to 84% (784 mAh g(-1)) is observed even at the 100th cycle which corresponds to a Coulombic efficiency of similar to 99%. Cyclic voltammetry studies on the composite show that Li storage is owing to reversible conversion reactions of MnO and electrochemical absorption/desorption by EG. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies clearly show easy lithiation kinetics. Owing to the electrochemical performance of EG/MnO composite and its easy, reproducible, and scalable synthesis procedure, it is an excellent addition to this class of similar materials.