Enhanced capacity and significant rate capability of Mn3O4/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite as high performance anode material in lithium-ion batteries

•Mn3O4/rGO nanocomposite is prepared by the chemical reduction of MnO2/rGO.•Enhanced capacity of 677 mAh g−1 (@123 mA g−1) is achieved after 150 cycles.•The composite delivered significant rate capability (640 mA g−1 @1.2 A g−1).•High Li ion diffusion coefficient of Mn3O4/rGO lead excellent device performance.•Li ion battery performance is compared with MnO2/rGO, MnO2 and graphene oxide. We report enhanced capacity, significant rate capability of Mn3O4 microsheet and reduced graphene oxide (Mn3O4/rGO) nanocomposite as high performance anode material in lithium ion battery. The Mn3O4/rGO nanocomposite prepared by a facile, low temperature chemical reduction procedure has achieved superior capacity of ~677 mAh g−1 (current rate = 123 mA g−1) after 150 charge/discharge cycles (retention = 85%) and appreciable rate capability of 640 mAh g−1 @1.2 A g−1. The comparative investigation reveals the distinguished electrochemical performance of Mn3O4/rGO as compared with MnO2/rGO, MnO2 and graphene oxide. Lithium ion diffusion coefficient of Mn3O4/rGO (2.4 × 10−10 m2 s−1) is higher than MnO2/rGO, MnO2 and graphene oxide that facilitates the smooth passage of Li ions in the composite delivering noticeable electrochemical performance. Mn3O4/rGO is synthesized by the simple chemical reduction of MnO2 nanorod/rGO nanocomposite and the procedure can be extended for the synthesis of other potentially useful, simple/complex metal oxides (varying shape and size) as anode materials in lithium ion batteries.