A flexible nanostructured paper of MnO NPs@MWCNTs/r-GO multilayer sandwich composite for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Designing a high capacity and long cycle life MnO-based composite material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is still a great challenge because of the intrinsically low electrical conductivity and dramatic volume variations during lithiation/delithiation. In this paper, the MnO nanoparticles (MnO NPs) are recombined with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) to rationally construct a novel MnO NPs@MWCNTs/r-GO multilayer sandwich structure via electrostatic interaction self-assembly and vacuum filtration processes. As a result, the MnO NPs are closely attracted in the conductive MWCNTs network, and the MWCNTs adsorbed on the surface of MnO NPs can be served as a soft and flexible carbon coating layer to self-adapt the huge volume expansion. For another, the r-GO between two MnO NPs@MWCNTs layers is the cause to form a free-standing paper, enhancing the transverse conductivity of the whole electrode simultaneously. These features will contribute to achieve excellent cycling stability and improved rate capability.