Facile fabrication of 3D porous MnO@GS/CNT architecture as advanced anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion battery

To overcome inferior rate capability and cycle stability of MnO-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), we reported a novel 3D porous MnO@GS/CNT composite, consisting of MnO nanoparticles homogeneously distributed on the conductive interconnected framework based on 2D graphene sheets (GS) and 1D carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The distinctive architecture offers highly interpenetrated network along with efficient porous channels for fast electron transfer and ionic diffusion as well as abundant stress buffer space to accommodate the volume expansion of the MnO nanoparticles. The MnO@GS/CNT anode exhibits an ultrahigh capacity of 1115 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 A g^-1 after 150 cycles and outstanding rate capacity of 306 mAh g^-1 at 10.0 A g^-1. Moreover, a stable capacity of 405 mAh g^-1 after 3200 cycles can still be achieved, even at a large current density of 5.0 A g^-1. When coupled with LiMn₂O₄ (LMO) cathode, the LMO MnO@GS/CNT full cell characterizes an excellent cycling stability and rate capability, indicating the promising application of MnO@GS/CNT anode in the next-generation LIBs.