Simple and eco‐friendly synthesis of nitrogen‐doped MnO nanoparticles/porous carbon nanosheets hybrid material as a high‐performance anode for lithium ion batteries.

A nitrogen-doped MnO nanoparticles/ porous carbon nanosheets (N-MnO/PCS) composite was synthesized by the room-temperature redox reaction between KMnO4 and PCS followed by a facile carbothermal reduction, and a subsequent coating process of urea onto MnO/PCS and heat treatment. N-MnO nanoparticles with a grain size of about 30 nm are homogenously embedded on the surface of the N-PCS, corresponding to a high loading of 50.09 wt.% in the resulting composite. Benefiting from the enhanced reaction kinetics as well as electrical conductivity and continuous transport pathways of Li+/electron resulting from the N-doping and hybridization of the cross-linked porous carbon substrate, the as-synthesized N-MnO/PCS-1 electrode delivers a large reversible specific capacity (1497.2 mA h g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) after 160 cycles), outstanding rate capacities (710.6 mA h g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) and 640.1 mA h g(-1) at 2 A g(-1)) and long-term cycling stability with specific capacity (976 mA h g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1) after cycling 300 cycles). The simple and green synthesis and electronic properties of this composite mean that it has great potential as a high-capacity anode material for practical application in large-scale energy storage devices.