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Biotemplated synthesis of three-dimensional porous MnO/C-N nanocomposites from renewable rapeseed pollen: An anode material for lithium-ion batteries

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Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently recognized as one of the most popular power sources available. To construct advanced LIBs exhibiting long-term endurance, great attention has been paid to enhancing their poor cycle stabilities. As the performance of LIBs is dependent on the electrode materials employed, the most promising approach to improve their life span is the design of novel electrode materials. We herein describe the rational design of a three-dimensional (3D) porous MnO/C-N nanoarchitecture as an anode material for long cycle life LIBs based on their preparation from inexpensive, renewable, and abundant rapeseed pollen (R-pollen) via a facile immersion-annealing route. Remarkably, the as-prepared MnO/C-N with its optimized 3D nanostructure exhibited a high specific capacity (756.5 mAh·g−1 at a rate of 100 mA·g−1), long life span (specific discharge capacity of 513.0 mAh·g−1, ~95.16% of the initial reversible capacity, after 400 cycles at 300 mA·g−1), and good rate capability. This material therefore represents a promising alternative candidate for the high-performance anode of next-generation LIBs.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21431006 and 21503207), the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21521001), the National Basic Research Program of China (Nos. 2014CB931800, 2013CB933900), and Scientific Research Grant of Hefei Science Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nos. 2015HSC-UE007 and 2015SRG-HSC038), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2015T80662 and 2014M550346), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. WK2060190047). The authors also thank the help provided by Dr. Yue Lin and Prof. Yan-Wei Ding in Instruments’ Center for Physical Science at the University of Science and Technology of China.

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  1. Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Department of Chemistry, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Li-Feng Chen, Sheng-Xiang Ma, Shu Lu, Yue Feng, Jia Zhang & Shu-Hong Yu

  2. Anhui Key Laboratory of Controllable Chemical Reaction and Material Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Sen Xin

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  1. Li-Feng Chen
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Correspondence to Shu-Hong Yu.

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12274_2016_1283_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Biotemplated synthesis of three-dimensional porous MnO/C-N nanocomposites from renewable rapeseed pollen: An anode material for lithium-ion batteries

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Chen, LF., Ma, SX., Lu, S. et al. Biotemplated synthesis of three-dimensional porous MnO/C-N nanocomposites from renewable rapeseed pollen: An anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Nano Res. 10, 1–11 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1283-7

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