Self-Sacrificing Template Synthesis of Micro/Nano Spheres Ni6MnO8 as Electrode for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Scalable preparation of micro/nano binary Ni-Mn oxides with good cyclability and low volume swing is crucial for their practical applications in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this contribution, micro/nano quasi-spheres Ni6MnO8 (NMO) has been firstly prepared via a versatile precursor self-sacrificial template method. Compared to the reported approaches, the presented synthetic route is more facile, scalable and lower cost. When cycled against Li/Li+, notably, the resultant NMO micro/nano spheres indicate the safer operation potential and superior electrochemical performances over the commercial graphite anode. A long cyclability (506.9 mAh g−1 at 1C after 350 cycles) and an excellent rate capability (60 mAh g−1 at 5C) were achieved, which can be attributed to the structure feature of the micro/nano sphere and a so-called semi-reversible reaction, implying a perspective value for application in high energy-density LIBs.