Orthorhombic cobalt oxalate dihydrate has been prepared in the form of nanoribbons by a reverse micelles method. The crystallographic structure of the resulting solid differs from the monoclinic massive product. A careful dehydration of the nanocrystals leads to anhydrous cobalt oxalate in which the nanoribbon-shaped particles are preserved and Co~(2+) ions are located in a centrosymmetric environment. CoC2O4 is used for the first time as high-capacity lithium storage materials with improved rate performance. The anhydrous solids react with lithium, leading to metallic cobalt and lithium oxalate, as shown by XAS and FITR measurements. The new electrode material displays reversible capacities close to 900 mA·h·g~(-1) between 0 and 2 V versus lithium by a novel reaction mechanism which involves cobalt reduction-reoxidation.
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