Facile synthesis of 3D plum candy-like ZnCo2O4 microspheres as a high-performance anode for lithium ion batteries

摘要

In this paper, 3D plum candy-like ZnCo _(2) O _(4) microspheres (3D plum candy-like ZCO MSs) with nanoscale building blocks were synthesized by an ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technology and evaluated as anode materials for high-performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The uniform ZnCo _(2) O _(4) microspheres exhibit plum candy-like architectures and are built from a large amount of interconnected nanoparticles with a diameter of approximately 38 nm. Owing to the unique hierarchical porous structure, the 3D plum candy-like ZCO MSs exhibit many advantageous properties such as their ability to facilitate the transport of Li ~(+) and electrolytes by shortening the diffusion ways, to accommodate the mechanical stress and volume change associated with the Li ~(+) insertion/extraction processes, and to improve the contact area between electrode and electrolyte, which are beneficial to improve the electrochemical performance. As a consequence, the ZnCo _(2) O _(4) nanomaterials exhibit excellent cycling performance with a discharge capacity of 1030 mA h g ~(?1) after 110 cycles at 200 mA g ~(?1) and superior rate capability (769 mA h g ~(?1) at 2000 mA g ~(?1) ). In virtue of the simple synthesis method and excellent electrochemical performance, 3D porous ZCO MSs have huge potential as anode materials for the next-generation LIBs.