2D film of carbon nanofibers elastically astricted MnO microparticles: A flexible binder-free anode for highly reversible lithium ion storage

MnO as anode materials has received particular interest owing to its high specific capacity, abundant resources and low cost. However, it is still a serious problem that large volume change (>170%) during the lithiation/delithiation processes results in poor rate capability and fast capacity decay. With homogenous crystals of MnO grown in the network of carbon nanofibers(CNF)，binding effect of CNFs can effectively weaken the volume change of MnO during cycles. In this work, CNF/MnO flexible electrode for lithium-ion batteries is designed and synthesized. The carbon nanofibers play the roles of conductive channel and elastically astricting MnO particles during lithiation/delithiation. CNF/MnO as binder-free anode delivers specific capacity of 983.8 mAh g−1 after 100th cycle at a current density of 0.2 A g−1, and 600 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 which are much better than those of pure MnO and pure CNF. The ex-situ FESEM images of CNF/MnO clearly show the relative volume change of MnO/CNF as anode under various discharging and charging time. CNFs can elastically buffer the volume change of MnO during charging/discharging cycles. This work presents a facile and scalable approach for synthesizing a novel flexible binder-free anode of CNF/MnO for potential application in highly reversible lithium storage devices.