ZnMn2O4 spheres anchored on jute porous carbon for use as a high-performance anode material in lithium-ion batteries

•Compound of ZnMn2O4 spheres anchored on jute porous carbon has been synthesized.•The composite material possessed a capacity of 1501.6 mA h g-1 after 200 cycles at 0.2 C.•At 2 C, it still has a capacity of 701.9 mA h g-1, and no capacity loss of 1000 cycles. Compound of ZnMn2O4 spheres anchored on jute porous carbon has been synthesized via a template method and a facile hydrothermal method. The composite material has possessed a capacity of 1501.6 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 C. At a current density of 2 C, it still has a capacity of 701.9 mA h g−1, and no capacity loss of 1000 cycles. [Display omitted] As anodes of lithium-ion batteries, transition metal oxide materials have been considerably studied due to their high theoretical specific capacities. However, their poor conductivities and the disintegration of their structures due to volume changes when charging and discharging have restricted the development of transition metal oxide anode materials in lithium-ion batteries. In this work, a novel ZnMn2O4 sphere/jute porous carbon composite material is prepared and displays a high capacity of 1501.6 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 C (1 C = 784 mA g−1). At a current density of 2 C, it still has a capacity of 701.9 mA h g−1 and no capacity loss for 1000 cycles. The reason for this excellent cycling stability is that the anode material has formed a special structure of ZnMn2O4 spheres composited with jute biomass porous carbon during the preparation process. Biomass porous carbon can promote charge transfer and reduce the volume change of ZnMn2O4. This work proposes an approach to prepare an environmentally friendly, high-performance lithium-ion battery anode material.