Electrospun MnCo₂O₄Nanotubes as High-Performance Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Transition metal oxides with spinel AB2O4 phases are deemed as potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), attributing to high specific capacities, low cost, and environmental friendliness, but the pulverization problem induced by the volume changes upon lithiation/delithiation greatly restricts their practical applications. To overcome this problem by nanostructure engineering, we herein successfully design and fabricate one-dimensional (1D) nanotubes consisted of interconnected MnCo2O4 nanoparticles via the convenient electrospinning process and the following heating method. As an anode for LIBs, the as-prepared 1D MnCo2O4 nanotubes demonstrate superior lithium storage properties, showing a high specific capacity (701.4 mA h g-1 at 500 mA g-1 even after going through 320 cycles) and a high-rate performance (400.4 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1). The unique 1D hollow tubular nanoarchitecture assembled from interconnected nanoparticles can provide richer active sites and shorten the lithium diffusion length, as well as mitigate the pulverization issue caused by volume changes.