Effect of surfactants on the morphology of ZnCo₂O₄ nanoflowers prepared by hydrothermal method

In this paper, flower-like ZnCo₂O₄ with different morphologies was prepared by using nickel foam as a collector and three different surfactants under hydrothermal and calcination conditions. One of the samples using polymer surfactant PVP has a large specific surface area, the petals of nanosheets, which can promote the migration and diffusion of lithium ions and electrons in the electrode materials and improve the electrical conductivity, thus significantly enhancing the electrochemical performance of the materials. As a lithium anode showing excellent cycling and multiplication performance, the discharge capacity can still reach 1072 mAh/g after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.1A/g, and when the current reaches 1.4A/g, it can still maintain a reversible capacity of 652mAh/g. The material has a high reversible capacity, good cycling stability, and good multiplication properties.