Porous Mn3O4 nanorod/reduced graphene oxide hybrid paper as a flexible and binder-free anode material for lithium ion battery

Abstract

A highly flexible and free-standing, porous Mn3O4 nanorod/reduced graphene oxide (pMn3O4 NR/rGO) paper was prepared by a two-step process: vacuum filtration and thermal treatment. The MnOOH nanorod/graphene oxide (MnOOH NR/GO) paper obtained by a simple filtration method is transformed into pMn3O4 NR/rGO paper after a thermal reduction process. A unique lamellar structure was achieved with pMn3O4 NR homogeneously intercalated within the GO layers. In the hybrid structure, graphene nanosheets provide a conductive pathway and act as the buffer layers to prevent the pulverization of pMn3O4 NRs during reaction. Therefore, when used as the anode in lithium ion batteries, this pMn3O4 NR/rGO paper exhibits a first high discharge capacity of 943 mA h g-1, which quickly stabilizes and remains at 573 mA h g-1 even after 100 cycles at 100 mA h g-1, which is much higher than the discharge capacity of the corresponding pristine graphene paper (183 mA h g-1). © 2016 Elsevier Ltd