In situ preparation of manganese sulfide on reduced graphene oxide sheets as cathode for rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion battery

Zinc-ion batteries have been received extensive interest in the resulting energy storage devices due to their high safety, simple operation, environment friendliness and nontoxicity. Herein, we report a composite material of manganese sulfide/reduced graphene oxide (MnS/RGO) as the cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which exhibits excellent cycling performance. Owing to the synergistic effect of desirable structural characteristic of MnS microsphere and favorable conductivity of the graphene network, the composite material delivers remarkable zinc storage performance. The MnS/RGO electrode exhibits a reversible discharge capacity of 289 ​mA ​h g−1 at 100 ​mA ​g−1, and impressive rate capability of 62 ​mA ​h g−1 at 1000 ​mA ​g−1. The brilliant electrochemical performance of MnS/RGO is related to the RGO nanosheets, which greatly improves the electrical contact and effectively alleviates the huge volume expansion during charging and discharging. [Display omitted] •The synthetic method is green and effective.•The MnS/RGO composite material was first reported as the cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.•The cathode materials exhibit excellent rate ability.