High lithium storage capacity and rate capability achieved by mesoporous Co₃O₄ hierarchical nanobundles

In this work, we report the feasibility to achieve high lithium storage capacity and rate capability of Co₃O₄ anode materials by preparing hierarchically mesoporous structure. The resultant mesoporous Co ₃O₄ hierarchical nanobundles exhibit a high specific capacity and favorable high-rate performance when used as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The reversible specific capacity could be kept at 1667.6 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g^-1 after 60 cycles. Even at high current densities of 1 A g^-1 and 5 A g ^-1, the Co₃O₄ electrodes still could deliver a remarkable discharge capacity of 1264.8 and 603.0 mAh g^-1 after 100 cycles, respectively. The unique mesoporous hierarchical structure should be responsible for the superior electrochemical performance. The good rate capability demonstrates the mesoporous Co₃O₄ hierarchical nanobundles have a great potential as a high-rate anode material in LIBs.