Zinc/Nickel-Doped Hollow Core-Shell Co3O4 Derived from a Metal-Organic Framework with High Capacity, Stability, and Rate Performance in Lithium/Sodium-Ion Batteries

Transition-metal oxides are one of the most promising anode materials for energy storage in lithium- and sodium-ion batteries (LIBs and NIBs, respectively). To improve the electrochemical performance of metal oxides (e.g., Co3O4), such as capacity and cyclability, a convenient strategy (with a metal-organic framework as a template) is introduced to generate Zn- or Ni-doped Co3O4. The obtained hollow core-shell nanosized Co3O4 (denoted as Zn/Ni-Co-Oxide) derived from pyrolyzing zinc or nickel co-doped ZIF-67 (Co(mIm)(2); mIm=methylimidazole) shows a drastically enhanced capacity of 1300 mAhg(-1) at a high current density of 5000 mAg(-1), compared with that of pristine cobalt oxide (800 mAhg(-1)) in LIBs. A zinc-doped Zn-Co-Oxide demonstrates a stable capacity of 1600 mAhg(-1) at 1000 mAg(-1) for 700 cycles and an excellent performance in full coin cells (cycled with LiNi0.5Co0.3Mn0.2O2). Moreover, NIB tests show a stable capacity of 300 mAhg(-1) for more than 250 cycles.