Hollow nanospheres of mesoporous Co9S8 as a high-capacity and long-life anode for advanced lithium ion batteries

Hollow nanospheres of mesoporous Co9S8 are successfully synthesized by a facile solvothermal reaction followed with a high-temperature annealing in Ar/H-2. These hollow nanoparticles exhibit a reversible capacity of similar to 1414 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at 100 mA g(-1). In the course of this cycling, there is a significant capacity recovery, which is associated with enhanced capacitance caused by repeated electro-chemical milling. The growth of a carbon shell on the hollow nanospheres further improves the reversible capacities at high rates, similar to 896 mA h g(-1) after 800 cycles at 2 A g(-1). The excellent lithium-storage performances shed light on the promising potential of sulfides as a high capacity, high rate and long life anodes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.