Co3O4-Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Synthesized by Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Process for Li-Ion Batteries

A nanocomposite of Co3O4 and reduced graphene oxide (Co3O4-rGO) was successfully synthesized as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries by a one-pot microwave-assisted hydrothermal process. In the nanocomposite, Co3O4 nanoparticles with narrow size distribution in the range of 10 - 30 nm uniformly decorated the surface of rGO, indicating that rGO could act as a two-dimensional template for the heterogeneous precipitation of Co3O4 nanoparticles. To investigate the effect of mass ratios of Co3O4 and rGO on the electrochemical properties, the Co3O4 loading in the nanocomposite was controlled during the microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. The resulting nanocomposite electrode exhibited high electrochemical performance in terms of specific capacity and cyclability, indicating that rGO served as an efficient template material to provide a highly conducting and buffering network for Co3O4 nanoparticles.