Facile synthesis of graphene encapsulated MnO nanorods as anode material for Li-ion batteries

Graphene encapsulated MnO nanorods, with a diameter of 60–120 nm and length of 1–1.5 μm (MnO@rGO) was synthesized. When evaluated as an anode material for LIBs, the MnO nanorods could not only better accommodate the huge volume change compared with bulk MnO during cycling, but also provide one dimensional charge transportation pathways. Meanwhile, graphene could efficiently alleviate the stress caused by volume change of MnO and improve the electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the as-obtained MnO@rGO hybrid delivers a high reversible capacity of 545 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ after 150 cycles, demonstrating its promising application in LIBs.