Rational design of 3D net-like carbon based Mn3O4 anode materials with enhanced lithium storage performance

An optimized structure design of three-dimensional (3D) net-like carbon based Mn3O4 (Mn3O4/CP) composites was realized based on the theory of explosive nucleation and in situ growth. Mn3O4/CP composites have been successfully prepared on a large scale with filter paper adsorbed with manganese(ii) oleate as the raw materials using a facile thermal decomposition route. The obtained Mn3O4/CP composite shows a reversible capacity of 1005 mA h g(-1) after 90 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1), with a remarkably enhanced rate performance and excellent cycling stability compared to the pure Mn3O4 nanostructure which loses most of its capacity within 10 cycles. Even at a current density of 2000 mA g(-1), the specific capacity of the Mn3O4/CP composite was still as high as 486 mA h g(-1), which is much higher than that of pure Mn3O4 (38 mA h g(-1)) and the carbon materials (111 mA h g(-1)). The enhancement of the electrochemical performance could be attributed to the synergy of Mn3O4 enwrapped with the 3D conductive carbon network, thus making it a promising anode material for large-scale energy storage applications. Moreover, this facile and effective synthetic strategy can be further explored as a universal approach for the rapid synthesis of other transition metal oxides and carbon hybrids with subtle structure engineering.