Aggregation-Morphology-Dependent Electrochemical Performance of Co3O4 Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The aggregation morphology of anode materials plays a vital role in achieving high performance lithium-ion batteries. Herein, Co3O4 anode materials with different aggregation morphologies were successfully prepared by modulating the morphology of precursors with different cobalt sources by the mild coprecipitation method. The fabricated Co3O4 can be flower-like, spherical, irregular, and urchin-like. Detailed investigation on the electrochemical performance demonstrated that flower-like Co3O4 consisting of nanorods exhibited superior performance. The reversible capacity maintained 910.7 mAh.g(-1) at 500 mA.g(-1) and 717 mAh.g(-1) at 1000 mA.g(-1) after 500 cycles. The cyclic stability was greatly enhanced, with a capacity retention rate of 92.7% at 500 mA.g(-1) and 78.27% at 1000 mA.g(-1) after 500 cycles. Electrochemical performance in long-term storage and high temperature conditions was still excellent. The unique aggregation morphology of flower-like Co3O4 yielded a reduction of charge-transfer resistance and stabilization of electrode structure compared with other aggregation morphologies.