Synergistically advancing Li storage property of hydrothermally grown 1D pristine MnO2 over a mesh-like interconnected framework of 2D graphene oxide

• Published in: Journal of solid state electrochemistry Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 1443 - 1454
• Main Authors: Kumar, Niraj, Rodriguez, Jassiel R., Pol, Vilas G., Sen, Arijit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Anodes; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Electron conductivity; Energy Storage; Graphene; Manganese dioxide; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Nanorods; Original Paper; Physical Chemistry; Synergistic effect; Ultrafines; Nanocomposite; Anode; Hydrothermal; Nanorods; Battery
• ISSN: 1432-8488; 1433-0768
• DOI: 10.1007/s10008-019-04221-9

Here, we present a unique morphology comprising a blend of ultrafine 1D MnO
2
and graphene oxide as an efficient anode material to overcome the issue of continuous capacity fading upon prolong cycling as suffered by almost every electrode materials. The graphene oxide sheets and
α-
MnO
2
nanorods are likely to display Van der Walls interactions in the as-prepared nanocomposite, offering a synergistic effect with high electron conductivity and reduced Li-ion path diffusion to improve the lithiation and de-lithiation processes. Therefore, the hybrid nanocomposite exhibited higher capacity of 1160 mAh g
−1
as against 938 mAh g
−1
displayed by the pristine
α-
MnO
2
nanorods at 0.1 C-rate after 100 cycles, with a coulombic efficiency of about 99%. A linear rise in capacity was observed predominantly after ~ 30 cycles, which remained unchanged even after the introduction of graphene oxide. This promising behavior can be attributed to the unique morphologies of the samples synthesized with meticulous optimizations via a single-step hydrothermal route.