Synthesis of Mn(3)O(4)-Based Aerogels and Their Lithium-Storage Abilities

Mn(3)O(4) aerogels and their graphene nanosheet (GN) composite aerogels were synthesized by a simple supercritical-ethanol process. In the process, supercritical ethanol acted as a reductant to reduce graphene oxide and MnO(2) gels simultaneously. The synthesized aerogels consisted of 10–20 nm Mn(3)O(4) nanocrystallites, with BET-specific surface areas around 60 m(2)/g. The performance of the aerogels as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries was also evaluated in this study. The results showed that Mn(3)O(4) aerogels as anode materials exhibited a reversible capacity of 498.7 mAh/g after 60 charge/discharge cycles while the reversible capacity for Mn(3)O(4)/GN composite aerogels could further increase to 665 mAh/g. The mechanisms for the enhanced capacity retention could be attributed to their porous structures and improved electronic contact with GN addition. The process should also offer an effective and facile method to fabricate many other porous metal oxide/GN nanocomposites for low-cost, high-capacity, environmentally benign material for lithium-ion batteries. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s11671-015-0960-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.