One-Pot Synthesis of CuCo₂S₄ Sub-Microspheres for High-Performance Lithium-/Sodium-Ion Batteries

Ternary transition metal sulfides have come into notice as a new class of prospective material with multiple applications in energy storage. In this work, CuCo₂S₄ sub-microspheres with sizes of 0.3–0.5 μm were prepared by a facile one-pot solvothermal method. This method combines chemical co-precipitation and sulfidation processes into one pot to make it low-cost and time-saving by controlling the volume ratio of mixed solvent. The as-prepared CuCo₂S₄ sub-microsphere exhibits an outstanding energy storage performance as dual anodes for lithium/sodium-ion batteries. It possesses a high specific capacity of 1081.3 mA h g⁻¹ at 100 mA g⁻¹ after 100 cycles with pseudocapacitive properties in lithium-ion batteries and 522.4 mA h g⁻¹ at 200 mA g⁻¹ after 140 cycles in sodium-ion batteries. The superior electrochemical performances of CuCo₂S₄ sub-microspheres forecast they will be a kind of competitive anode materials for lithium/sodium-ion batteries.