Scalable Room-Temperature Synthesis of Mesoporous Nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 with Enhanced Lithium Storage Properties for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, we put forward a facile yet efficient room-temperature synthetic methodology for the smart fabrication of mesoporous nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 in macro-quality from the birnessite-type MnO2 phase. A plausible reduction/ion exchange/re-crystallization mechanism is tentatively proposed herein for the scalable synthesis of the spinel phase ZnMn2O4. When utilized as a high-performance anode for advanced Li-ion battery (LIB) application, the as-synthesized nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 delivered an excellent discharge capacity of approximately 1288mAhg(-1) on the first cycle at a current density of 400mAg(-1), and exhibited an outstanding cycling durability, rate capability, and coulombic efficiency, benefiting from its mesoporous and nanoscale structure, which strongly highlighted its great potential in next-generation LIBs. Furthermore, the strategy developed here is very simple and of great importance for large-scale industrial production.