MOF-derived MnO/C composites as high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes

Abstract MnO, a promising anode material, has been widely applied in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to it being environmentally friendly, easy to synthesize, and low cost. However, the huge volumetric expansion and particle aggregation that takes place during the charge/discharge process seriously hinder its development. In this study, we fabricate MnO/C composite by pyrolysis metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which have a porous carbon nanosheet structure that supports MnO nanoparticles. MOFs were chosen as their large interlayer spacing provides sufficient buffer room for the volumetric change of the MnO nano-components during the charge/discharge process, thereby ensuring the stability of the overall structure. This structure greatly improves the electrochemical performance of MnO, resulting in a 96% capacity retention rate after 1000 charge-discharge cycles under 2 A g 1 current density.