Engineering MnO/C microsphere for enhanced lithium storage

Abstract 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.