Hollow porous Co3O4/NC@rGO derived from reuleaux tetrahedral ZIF-67 as a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries

Constructing advanced nanostructures and combining various active materials are effective strategies to obtain high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report a surface-coordinated polymerization method to synthesize ZIF-67 nanoparticles with a reuleaux tetrahedron morphology, and combine the electrostatic adsorption method and heat treatment, nitrogen-doped hollow porous Co3O4 (HP-Co3O4/NC) nanoparticles were anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to obtain HP-Co3O4/NC@rGO composites. This deliberate structural design can significantly improve the electrochemical performance of lithium (Li) storage. When applied as an anode material in LIBs, HP-Co3O4/NC@rGO nanocomposite renders a reversible capacity of 809 mAh g−1 after 200 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 1000 mA g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the hollow nanostructure and graphene network. A hollow nanostructure can provide abundant active sites and enhance structural stability. As a conductive network, graphene tightly wraps Co3O4, which can not only increase the electronic and ionic transport but also alleviates the volumetric changes of Co3O4 during the charge/discharge process, thereby improving the rate performance and cyclic stability.