Facile controlled synthesis of MnO2 nanostructures of novel shapes and their application in batteries

In this paper, MnO2 nanomaterials of different crystallographic types and crystal morphologies have been selectively synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route and electrochemically investigated as the cathode active materials of primary and rechargeable batteries. Beta-MnO2 nano/microstructures, including one-dimensional (1-D) nanowires, nanorods, and nanoneedles, as well as 2-D hexagramlike and dendritelike hierarchical forms, were obtained by simple hydrothermal decomposition of an Mn(NO3)2 solution under controlled reaction conditions. Alpha- and gamma-MnO2 nanowires and nanorods were also prepared on the basis of previous literature. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by instrumental analyses such as XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM. Furthermore, the obtained 1-D alpha- and gamma-MnO2 nanostructures were found to exhibit favorable discharge performance in both primary alkaline Zn-MnO2 cells and rechargeable Li-MnO2 cells, showing their potential applications in high-energy batteries.