Nanowires of Ni Substituted MnCo₂O₄ as an Anode Material for High Performance Lithium-ion Battery

We have demonstrated, the synthesis of Ni substituted Manganese Cobalt Oxide Mn_1-xNi_xCo₂O₄(x=0, 0.6) (NMCO) nanowires by facile hydrothermal technique as an anode material for Li-ion batteries. The morphological features by FESEM reveal the formation of 3D microcube like structure for pure MnCo₂O₄(MCO). Interestingly, it was found that 3D microcube structure of MCO transform into 1D nanowires with Ni substitution. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium ion batteries, NMCO electrode exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance i. e., an almost 98 % capacity retention of 706 mAh g⁻¹, even after 200 cycles at applied current density of 500 mA g⁻¹. Importantly, a high discharge capacity of 474 mAh g⁻¹ is maintained at the very high rate of 10 Ag⁻¹. The excellent anode performance of NMCO system ascribed to high open porosity which provides access to electrolyte and Li-ions for effective electrochemical reaction. More significantly, better performance of nanowires is attributed to the shortening of diffusion path of electrons and Lithium ion transport.