One-pot synthesis of nanosized MnO incorporated into N-doped carbon nanosheets for high performance lithium storage

Abstract

As potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, transition metal oxides have been extensively investigated due to their high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, how to address rapid capacity degradation and improve rate capability is still a big challenge. Herein, nanosized MnO incorporated into N-doped carbon nanosheets (MnO/NCN) was rationally designed by a facile one-pot salt-templated synthesis method. The nanosized MnO particles (around 20 nm) were powerfully anchored on the ultrathin N-doped carbon nanosheets to build a high-efficiency electrons/ions hybrid conductive framework. In addition, based on the stable interfacial interaction between MnO and N-doped carbon nanosheets, the MnO/NCN hybrid exhibits great structural stability, thus delivering high reversible lithium storage capacity (719 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1) and superior stability (497 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 over 1000 cycles). Besides, the assembled lithium-ion capacitor with MnO/NCN anode exhibits excellent energy-power characteristics (142 W h kg−1 at 412 W kg−1). Such impressive lithium storage performance demonstrates that the MnO/NCN electrode is promising for large-scale energy storage devices.