Self-assembly of flower-like MoO3-NiO microspheres with carbon coating as high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Carbon-coated flower-like MoO3-NiO microspheres (FL-MNO@C) are successfully synthesized by a facile two-step method, which involves a citric-assisted hydrothermal self-assembly process followed by an amorphous carbon coverage process. The monodispersed flower-like microspheres are composed of loosely stacked nanosheets with a thickness of similar to 50 nm, in which MoO3 and NiO nanoparticles are dispersed homogenously. As anode material for lithium ion batteries, the electrode exhibits a capacity of 944 mAh g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) up to 100 cycles, and even retains a reversible capacity of 481 mAh g(-1) at 2000 mA g(-1) after 2000 cycles. The features of good electrochemical performance and easy to mass production make the FL-MNO@C composite potential candidate as high performance anode material for practical application in lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.