Tremella-like NiO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposites as excellent anodes for cyclable lithium-ion batteries

NiO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposites as an advanced anode material was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method with the metal - organic frameworks (MOFs) were used as precursors and sacrificial templates. By altering the quantities of the solute, NiO/NiCo2O4 microspheres with multilayered hollow structures and tremella-like shape can be obtained. Notably, a considerable reversible capacity in the first cycle of 1554 mAh g-1 at 500 mA g-1 then retained 921 mAh g-1 at the current density of 500 mA g-1 after completion of 800 loops for the tremellalike NiO/NiCo2O4 as an electrode material. Comparatively, the discharge capacity of multilayered hollow NiO/ NiCo2O4 sphere remained 758 mAh g-1 after 800 cycles. The rate performances are 854.7 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1 and 563.2 mA h g-1 at 3 A g-1 with the tremella-like NiO/NiCo2O4 as the anode. When using the MOF-derivation route, the porous NiO/NiCo2O4 with a larger surface area, results in providing more active sites and greater the contact area of electrolyte-electrode material. And the excellent electrochemical performance can be obtained finally.