Nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 as a novel lithium-storage material

Nanocrystalline ZnMn2O4 is prepared by a polymer-pyrolysis route and used as a novel anode for lithium ion batteries. XRD and HRTEM studies reveal that the products are highly phase-pure and 30–60 nm in size. Galvanostatic cycling of ZnMn2O4 electrode at 100 mA g−1 (about 0.52 mA cm−2) between 0.01 and 3.0 V up to 50 cycles exhibits almost stable cycling performance between 10 and 50 cycles with only an average capacity fade of 0.20% per cycle and the electrode still maintains a capacity of 569 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles.