One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of flower-shaped Zif-67@NiCo-LDH heterostructure as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Nickel cobalt layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) nanosheets have attracted much interests in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high capacity and low cost. However, the low cycling stability limits their practical applications. Herein, we introduce a simple one-pot hydrothermal method to fabricate a novel flower-shaped Zif-67@NiCo-LDH heterostructure as the anode materials. The structures, morphology, and compositions of the materials were studied by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, EDX, and Raman spectra. Electrochemical tests were also conducted. The Zif-67@NiCo-LDH simultaneously inherited the cycling stability of Zif-67 and the high capacity of NiCo-LDH, which effectively improves the conductivity and structural integrity under the synergistic effect of the flower-shaped heterostructures and compositions and showed a good electrochemical performance. This work might enable the future design of heterostructures materials with layered double hydroxide for many other energy-storage technologies.