Facile synthesis of porous CoFe2O4 nanosheets for lithium-ion battery anodes with enhanced rate capability and cycling stability

Porous CoFe2O4 nanosheets, having the thickness of 30-60 nm and lateral size of several microns with numerous penetrating pores, are synthesized via thermal decomposition of (CoFe2)(1/3)C2O4 center dot 2H(2)O nanosheets, which are facilely prepared through a poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted precipitation-cum-self-assembly process in an aqueous medium. The obtained porous CoFe2O4 nanosheets are employed as anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The anode exhibits excellent rate capability and cycling stability. When discharging-charging at 1 A g(-1) and 2 A g(-1), it can deliver discharge capacities as high as 806 mA h g(-1) and 648 mA h g(-1), respectively, each for 200 cycles. This makes the porous CoFe2O4 nanosheets promising candidates for anode materials in high-energy and high-power LIBs.