Metal-organic framework derived Co₃Se₄@Nitrogen-doped porous carbon as a high-performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

In this paper, Co₃Se₄ nanoparticles embedded in nitrogen-doped porous carbon polyhedra are synthesized via a facile one-step thermal selenization, using zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) as the template. The electrochemical properties of the fabricated nanocomposite are evaluated for use as anodes for lithium ion batteries and found to exhibit a specific capacity (950 mAh g^-1 at 0.2 C) and excellent cyclic stability (899 mAh g^-1 at 1 C after 1000 cycles). Both are much higher than those of the state-of-the-art Co-Se based nanocomposites. This extraordinary lithium storage is attributed to the synergetic effect between the Co₃Se₄ nanocrystals and nitrogen-doped porous carbon framework, and is believed to offer a potential candidate anode material for next-generation lithium ion batteries.