Local Built-In Electric Field Enabled in Carbon-Doped Co3O4 Nanocrystals for Superior Lithium-lon Storage

In this work, a novel concept of introducing a local built-in electric field to facilitate lithium-ion transport and storage within interstitial carbon (C-) doped nanoarchitectured Co3O4 electrodes for greatly improved lithium-ion storage properties is demonstrated. The imbalanced charge distribution emerging from the C-dopant can induce a local electric field, to greatly facilitate charge transfer. Via the mechanism of surface locking effect and in situ topotactic conversion, unique sub-10 nm nanocrystal-assembled Co3O4 hollow nanotubes (HNTs) are formed, exhibiting excellent structural stability. The resulting C-doped Co3O4 HNT-based electrodes demonstrate an excellent reversible capacity approximate to 950 mA h g(-1) after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g(-1) and superior rate performance with approximate to 853 mA h g(-1) at 10 A g(-1).