(3hp) Hybrid NiO/Co3O4 Nanoflowers As High Performance Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The construction of advanced nanostructures as well as the hybridization of different active materials are highly desirable for achieving lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anode with superior electrochemical performance. Herein, we developed a simple solvothermal method, with a subsequent annealing process for the synthesis of flower-like NiO/Co₃O₄ with dense pores on the petals, and investigated its potential as anodes for LIBs. The as-prepared hybridized NiO/Co₃O₄ anode material exhibited an impressive capacity (1428.8 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g^-1 for 100 cycles, and 668.6 mAh g^-1 at 1 A g^-1 for 600 cycles), which is a significant improvement compared with its corresponding building blocks as well as the physical mixture of NiO and Co₃O₄. This excellent performance should be attributed to the unique flower-like porous architecture and the synergetic effect of two electrochemically cooperative anode materials, simultaneously overcoming the conductivity deficiency and capacity fading due to severe volume expansion during cycling. We believe that this material is promising in energy storage system, and can be extended to other applications such as catalysis, microwave absorption and gas sensing.