Facile synthesis of the Mn3O4 polyhedron grown on N-doped honeycomb carbon as high-performance negative material for lithium-ion batteries

Because of their large volume variation and inferior electrical conductivity, Mn3O4-based oxide anode materials have short cyclic lives and poor rate capability, which obstructs their development. In this study, we successfully prepared a Mn3O4/N-doped honeycomb carbon composite using a smart and facile synthetic method. The Mn3O4 nanopolyhedra are grown on N-doped honeycomb carbon, which evidently mitigates the volume change in the charging and discharging processes but also improves the electrochemical reaction kinetics. More importantly, the Mn—O—C bond in the Mn3O4/N-doped honeycomb carbon composite benefits electrochemical reversibility. These features of the Mn3O4/N-doped honeycomb carbon (NHC) composite are responsible for its superior electrochemical performance. When used for Li-ion batteries, the Mn3O4/N-doped honeycomb carbon anode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 598 mAh·g−1 after 350 cycles at 1 A·g−1. Even at 2 A·g−1, the Mn3O4/NHC anode still delivers a high capacity of 472 mAh·g−1. This work provides a new prospect for synthesizing and developing manganese-based oxide materials for energy storage.