Synthesis of MoO2 hierarchical peony-like microspheres without a template and their application in lithium ion batteries

Three dimensional hierarchical structures constructed with low dimensional nanoscale building blocks have become a new research focus for lithium storage. Some hierarchical structured compounds, such as V2O5, Co3O4 and MoS2 micro/nanoflowers, have been synthesized for energy storage applications. However, it still remains a challenge to fabricate well-designed hierarchical MoO2 microflowers. This paper reports on a morphology-controlled synthesis of hierarchical peony-like MoO2 microspheres as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. This hierarchical structure is fabricated via a simple template-free solvothermal method. The as-derived hierarchical MoO2 microspheres exhibit high specific capacity, high capacity retention, and remarkable cycling stability, when evaluated as an anode material for LIBs.