Hydrazine hydrate-induced hydrothermal synthesis of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles dispersed on graphene as high-performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

Herein, a MnFe2O4/graphene (MnFe2O4/G) nanocomposite has been synthesized via a facile N2H4·H2O-induced hydrothermal method. During the synthesis, N2H4·H2O is employed to not only reduce graphene oxide to graphene, but also prevent the oxidation of Mn2+ in alkaline aqueous solution, thus ensuring the formation of MnFe2O4/G. Moreover, MnFe2O4 nanoparticles (5-20 nm) are uniformly anchored on graphene. MnFe2O4/G electrode delivers a large reversible capacity of 768 mA h g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 200 cycles and high rate capability of 517 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1. MnFe2O4/G holds great promise as anode material in practical applications due to the outstanding electrochemical performance combined with the facile synthesis strategy.