The manganese oxyborate Mn3(BO3)2 as a high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

Borate has aroused great interest as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high specific capacity and abundant supply of raw materials. To further increase its energy density in LIBs, it is urgent to synthesize a new type of relatively low potential borate material. In this study, Mn3(BO3)2 with a relatively suitable discharge voltage plateau (~0.9 V vs. Li/Li+) was successfully prepared. The synthesized Mn3(BO3)2 has high charge specific capacity (544.4 mAh g−1 at 0.4 A g−1), excellent cycle stability (538.1 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles at 0.4 A g−1) and high rate performance (191.5 mAh g−1 at 3.2 A g−1). The lithium storage behavior of Mn3(BO3)2 was studied by ex-situ XRD and ex-situ XPS.