Facile synthesis of porous Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ microspheres as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with enhanced electrochemical performance

In this study, the porous Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ microspheres were prepared via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. Firstly, the Mn₂O₃ particles were obtained by the calcination of hydrothermal-synthesized MnCO₃. Then the TiO₂ layer was coated on the surface of the Mn₂O₃ particles by a hydrothermal-assisted liquid phase deposition (HA-LPD) method. The as-prepared samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyzer (BET), respectively. Moreover, the electrochemical performances of Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ as an anode material in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) were also evaluated. The results indicated that, the specific capability of the Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ composite material was about 452 mAh g⁻¹ at the current density of 500 mA g⁻¹ after 200 cycles, which was much higher than that of pristine Mn₂O₃ (313 mAh g⁻¹). Meanwhile, the rate capacity of Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ was 177 mAh g⁻¹ at the current density of 4 A g⁻¹, which was also higher than that of pure Mn₂O₃ (3 mAh g⁻¹). Moreover, the Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ composite material can still yield a specific capacity of 800 mAh g^− 1 at the current density of 1 A g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical performances of Mn₂O₃/TiO₂ composite material was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between the Mn₂O₃ with high capacity and TiO₂ with superior stability.