ZIF-8-Derived Carbon In-Situ Encapsulated Hollow Mn 2 SiO 4 Sub-Microspheres as Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Ultrahigh Capacity and Excellent Rate Performance.

Manganese silicate (Mn 2 SiO 4 ) possesses a more suitable volume expansion (186%) compared to SiO x -based materials and is also characterized by low cost, environmental friendliness, and considerable theoretical capacity. Hollow Mn 2 SiO 4 sub-microspheres encapsulated by a highly continuous network of conductive carbon (MSC) are prepared by the self-templating method and subsequent ZIF-8-derived carbon coating. The as-prepared Mn 2 SiO 4 @C hybrid under optimal conditions (MSC-2) can provide a high capacity of 1343 mA h g -1 at 0.2 A g -1 and an excellent rate performance of 434 mA h g -1 at 10 A g -1 . Even after 500 cycles, MSC-2 can still maintain a considerable specific capacity of 554 mA h g -1 at a high current density of 5.0 A g -1 . Additionally, the full cell assembled with MSC-2 anode and LiFePO 4 cathode (MSC-2//LFP) possesses a robust energy density of 218 W h kg -1 , excellent power density of 2.5 kW kg -1 , and good cycling stability.