Growth and growth mechanism of oxide nanocrystals on electrochemically exfoliated graphene for lithium storage

Abstract

Difficulty of growing metal oxides on intrinsic graphene due to few defects and functional groups on its surface was overcome by deposition of polymerized precursors via multiple interacting sites, followed by crystallization of metal oxides inside the aggregated polymer. As a typical example, Mn3O4-decorated electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG) was successfully prepared and served as an advanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Because EEG possesses higher electronic conductivity and stronger mechanical strength in comparison with commonly used reduced graphene oxide (rGO), the new composite of EEG-Mn3O4 exhibits much better electrochemical performance than rGO-Mn3O4, including superior reversible capacity and better cycling stability.