Interconnected MnO2 nanoflakes supported by 3D nanostructured stainless steel plates for lithium ion battery anodes

•The peak fitting of cyclic voltammetry provides more detailed information about electrochemical reaction.•3D nanoporous stainless steel plate was a good current collector for lithium ion battery.•MnO2 nanoflakes show an excellent electrochemical performance.

Interconnected MnO2 nanoflakes supported by 3D nanostructured stainless steel (SS) plates are prepared by a facile hydrothermal synthesis. The resultant architecture is used as binder-free anodes of lithium ion batteries. Cyclic voltammetry analysis is conducted to distinguish the reactions between lithium ions and the active material at various discharge-charge potentials. Galvanostatic battery testing shows that the representative electrode exhibits a reversible capacity up to 1387.1 mA h g−1 at a current rate of 0.2 C after 100 cycles and a capacity higher than 492.9 mA h g−1 at a rate of 5 C. Such an excellent cycling performance, better rate capability and high capacity indicate that the simply etched 3D SS plate is a promising nanostructured current collector.

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