1D porous MnO@N-doped carbon nanotubes with improved Li-storage properties as advanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries

As a promising anode candidate for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), MnO has attracted wide attentions owing to its theoretically high Li-storage capacity, lower working voltage and polarization than other oxides, low cost, environmental friendliness, and abundant resources. Herein, we develop a facile and low-cost strategy to fabricate a unique porous MnO@N-doped carbon (MnO@N-C) nanotube and demonstrate its outstanding Li-storage properties as anode material for LIBs. Benefiting from its unique 1D porous features, the prepared MnO@N-C electrodes exhibit high reversible specific capacity (971.8 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 A g(-1)), superb high-rate capability (359.5 mAh g(-1) at 30 A g(-1)) and remarkable cycling stability (441.5 mA h g(-1) after 3500 cycles at 10 A g(-1)). Such superior electrochemical performance should be due to the high conductivity and protection effects of N-doped carbon layer, and adequate internal voids in the MnO@N-C to effectively accommodate the volume changes of MnO during cycling. In addition, it is also disclosed that the high capacity contribution arises from the pseudocapacitive charge storage. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.