Hydrothermal synthesis and electrochemical properties of alpha-manganese sulfide submicrocrystals as an attractive electrode material for lithium-ion batteries

A convenient hydrothermal synthetic route has been successfully developed to prepare stable rock-salt-type structure α-MnS submicrocrystals under mild conditions. In this synthetic system, hydrated manganese chloride (MnCl4·4H2O) was used to supply a highly reactive manganese source, thiourea ((NH2)2CS) was used to supply the sulfide source and aqueous hydrazine (N2H4·H2O) was used as both alkaline and reducing agent. The results revealed that the electrochemical performance of the α-MnS submicrocrystals may be associated with the degree of crystallinity and particle size of samples. The initial lithiation capacity of the α-MnS submicrocrystals obtained at 120 °C is 1327 mAh g−1 at 0.7 V versus Li/Li+, which exhibited α-MnS submicrocrystals is extremely promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries and has great potential applications in the future.