Honeycomb-Spherical Co3O4-TiO2 Hybrid Materials for Enhanced Lithium Storage

This work introduces an effective, inexpensive and large-scale production route to the fabrication of a novel honeycomb-spherical Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 nanocomposite anode material for use in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The microstructure and phase composition of the Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 product were characterized systematically. The Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 nanocomposite electrode yielded fairly high reversible capacity of ∼1000   mAh/g at 200   mA/g after 100 cycles. Moreover, the electrode exhibited extraordinary rate ability and could regain its original specific capaities as reversing to the low current densities. Meanwhile, when being applied as anode material in full cells, it still achieved remarkably improved electrochemical performance compared with traditional graphite material. Noticeably, in-situ XRD measurement verified the conversion mechanism for the Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 electrode. The likely contributing factors to these outstanding electrochemical properties of the Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 nanocomposite could be related to the distinctive morphology including interlaced Co 3 O 4 nanoflakes (NFs) and the TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs), which contains superior structural stability and allows more channels for the Li + insertion/extraction reaction. This research shows that the as-prepared Co 3 O 4 -TiO 2 nanocomposite could be suitable for use as a favorable cycle performance anode material for lithium ion batteries.