Solvothermal synthesis of Mn3O4 as an anode material for lithium ion batteries

The nanoparticles of Mn3O4 has been self-assembly synthesized by the mixed solvothermal method. The PEO-PPO-PEO(P123) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) were used as surfactant. The results showed that Mn3O4 samples with different morphologies were synthesized using different surfactant. The Mn3O4 took on morphology of hierarchical pores microspheres when P123 was used as surfactant. The as-prepared hierarchical pores microspheres structure interconnected voids consists of clustered together of nanoparticles in diameter of about 100–120 nm. When HMTA was used as surfactant, the morphology of Mn3O4 was flowers-like microspheres with grain diameter of 2 μm which were assembled from clustered nanosheets. The results of electrochemical testing showed that the pure Mn3O4 synthesized using P123 as surfactant (MO-1) behaved a higher reversible capacity and better cycling performance than those of sample synthesized using HMTA as surfactant (MO-2) and the Mn3O4 material reported in other articles at present.