Preparation of porous Co3O4 polyhedral architectures and its application as anode material in lithium-ion battery

Novel porous Co3O4 polyhedral architectures have been successfully prepared by combining a facile hydrothermal synthesis of uniform cobalt oxalate precursors with subsequent heat treatment. The Co3O4 products are in truncated hexahedral shape, and are composed of many interconnected nanoparticles and a large number of macro-/mesopores. When tested as an anode material for lithium-ion battery, the porous polyhedral Co3O4 presents an initial discharge capacity of 1546 mA h g(-1), and maintains a reversible capacity of 432 mA h g(-1) after 45 discharge/charge cycles. The enhanced lithium-storage performance can be attributed to the unique porous architecture, which provides the structural flexibility for volume change and the routes for fast Li+ diffusion. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.