Synthesis and Electrochemical Properties of Hierarchically Porous Zn(Co1-xMnx)2O4 Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries

A hierarchically porous Zn(Co1-xMnx)(2)O-4 anode is synthesized through a hydrothermal method. XRD measurements indicate that ZnCo2O4, ZnCo1.5Mn0.5O4, ZnCoMnO4, ZnCo0.5Mn1.5O4, and ZnMn2O4 are isostructural in solid solution. Through analysis of X-ray photoelectronic spectra and EPMA and EDX mapping of Zn(Co1-xMnx)(2)O-4, it is confirmed that the valance of Mn is 3+ only, and that the Mn cation is distributed homogeneously in the ZnCo2O4-based structure. Interestingly, the pore-size distributions of these spinel-based anodes are tunable by changing the substituting content of Mn in the ZnCo2O4 host. Compared with nanoporous ZnCo2O4 and macroporous ZnMn2O4, the as-synthesized ZnCoMnO4 nanospheres exhibit a high capacity of 823mAhg(-1) with excellent cycling retention of more than 80cycles without decay. The excellent cyclability might be attributed to the nanosized particles and the nature of the hierarchical pore-size distribution. The results indicate that ZnCoMnO4 is a good candidate as an anode for application in lithium-ion batteries.