Abstract
Among the transition metal oxides, the Mn3O4 nanostructure possesses high theoretical specific capacity and lower operating voltage. However, the low electrical conductivity of Mn3O4 decreases its specific capacity and restricts its application in the energy conversion and energy storage. In this work, well-shaped, octahedron-like Mn3O4 nanocrystals were prepared by one-step hydrothermal reduction method. Field emission scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer were applied to characterize the morphology, the structure, and the composition of formed product. The growth mechanism of Mn3O4 nano-octahedron was studied. Cyclic voltammograms, galvanostatic charge–discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and rate performance were used to study the electrochemical properties of obtained samples. The experimental results indicate that the component of initial reactants can influence the morphology and composition of the formed manganese oxide. At the current density of 1.0 A g−1, the discharge specific capacity of as-prepared Mn3O4 nano-octahedrons maintains at about 450 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles. This work proves that the formed Mn3O4 nano-octahedrons possess an excellent reversibility and display promising electrochemical properties for the preparation of lithium-ion batteries.
Highlights
In the past few years, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have increasingly held attention owing to their great potential in powering and in hybrid electric vehicles [1]
Mn3O4 materials with micro/nanosizes have been synthesized by a variety of methods, such as the hydrothermal method [8,9], solvothermal method [10], precipitation method [11], chemical decomposition [12], sputtering [13], electrodeposition [14], thermal decomposition [15], and so on
The LIBs prepared by Mn3O4 tetragonal bipyramids display high initial discharge capacity (1141.1 mAh g−1), excellent reversible specific capacity (822.3 mAh g−1), good rate performance, and higher coulombic efficiency [8]
Summary
In the past few years, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have increasingly held attention owing to their great potential in powering and in hybrid electric vehicles [1] Thanks to their flexible structure and excellent chemical-physical properties, manganese-based materials (such as Mn3O4, MnO2, and MnOOH) have been applied in the areas of energy storage and catalysis and attracted more interest [2,3]. Much progress has been achieved, an effective, low-cost, and safe method to prepare Mn3O4 nano-octahedrons with uniform size to improve their electrochemical properties is highly desirable. A higher volume ratio of N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to KMnO4 in the initial reaction solution contributes to the formation of pure Mn3O4 nano-octahedrons and the improvement of the capacity stability of the formed product
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