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

A highly flexible and free-standing, porous Mn3O4 nanorod/reduced graphene oxide (pMn(3)O(4) 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 pMn(3)O(4) NR/rGO paper after a thermal reduction process. A unique lamellar structure was achieved with pMn(3)O(4) 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 pMn(3)O(4) NRs during reaction. Therefore, when used as the anode in lithium ion batteries, this pMn(3)O(4) 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)). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.