Porous conductive carbon black supported MnO2 composite with high electrochemical performance for zinc-ion batteries

Abstract

Zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted considerable attention owing to their inherent safety and environmental friendliness. As a cathode material for ZIBs, MnO₂ possesses the dissolution and volumetric expansion issues. Herein, to address these problems, an easy-obtained conductive carbon black (CCB) and a simple pyrolysis approach have been utilized to fabricate a novel δ-MnO₂/conductive carbon black (δ-MnO₂/CCB) composite. Notably, the introduction of CCB can improve the conductivity of MnO₂, and hence resulting in superior electrochemical performance. The reversible capacity of δ-MnO₂/CCB is 263.9 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹. The δ-MnO₂/CCB composite also remains at a high capacity of 145.2 mAh g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at 0.2 A g⁻¹. Given its simplicity, the preparation method can serve as a valuable reference for synthesizing other MnO₂/C composite materials.