Bi-metal organic framework derived nickel manganese oxide spinel for lithium-ion battery anode

Ternary transition metal oxides offer several advantageous features compared to the binary analogs due to presence of hetero transition metals with multiple valence states and the possible synergistic effects. Recently, metal organic frameworks have emerged as exotic template for synthesis of morphologically pre-designed metal oxide nanostructures. Nonetheless, synthesis of heteroatom ternary metal oxides through bi-metal organic framework (BMOF) route has proved to be challenging. Herein, we report a scalable single-step synthesis protocol for obtaining Ni/Mn-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate BMOF from which interconnected multi-faceted particles of NiMn₂O₄ spinel could be derived by thermal calcination at 800 °C. When applied as an anode for lithium-ion battery, the BMOF-derived mesoporous NiMn₂O₄ delivered a high reversible capacity (1049 mAh g⁻¹), good rate performance (413 and 258 mAh g⁻¹ at 503 and 1257 mA g⁻¹) and good electrochemical stability highlighting the MOF-derived morphological advantages. The present results would help designing ternary metal oxide nanostructures for electrochemical energy storage application.