Zinc manganate/manganic oxide bi-component nanorod as excellent cathode for zinc-ion battery

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have been receiving much attention because they are cheap, safe, and environment-friendly. However, their application is bottlenecked by limitation in high-capacity cathode and types of materials to achieve satisfactory cyclability. Therefore, developing new cathode materials for rechargeable zinc-ion batteries is essential. Herein, we report promising ZIBs based on metal-organic framework-derived 2-methylimidazole zinc salt (ZIF-8)/Mn₂O₃ nanocomposites as cathode and zinc as the anode. ZnMn₂O₄/Mn₂O₃ bi-component nanorods were synthesized by annealing ZIF-8/MnO₂ precursors, which showed a reversible discharge capacity of 230 mAh g^–1 at 100 mA g^–1 after 120 cycles and a high capacity of 80 mAh g^–1 at a large current density of 1000 mA g^–1. The superior zinc storage performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between ZnMn₂O₄ and Mn₂O₃.