A facile bubble-assisted synthesis of porous Zn ferrite hollow microsphere and their excellent performance as an anode in lithium ion battery

Pure porous hollow Zn ferrite (ZnFe2O4) microspheres have been successfully synthesized by a facile bubble assisted method in the presence of ammonium acetate (NH4Ac) as an anode material in lithium ion battery. The shape, size, and morphology of Zn ferrite are investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the probable bubble-assisted formation mechanism of porous hollow Zn ferrite spheres based on the experimental results is proposed. With the porous hollow structure, the obtained pure Zn ferrite particle as an anode in lithium ion battery demonstrates high capacity and excellent cycle ability. The high initial discharge specific capacity is approximately 1,400 mAh g(-1) and a reversible specific capacity approaches 584 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at a constant current density of 100 mA g(-1). The excellent electrochemical performance of the as-prepared Zn ferrite could be attributed to the special structure with which the volume expansion and pulverization of the particles became increasingly reduced.