Facile microstructure control of mesoporous Co1.29Ni1.71O4 and the effect of the microstructure on lithium-storage performance.

A simple and efficient pathway has been designed and developed to synthesize mesoporous Co1.29Ni1.71O4 nanostructures without the use of any templates. By adjusting the volume ratio of water to ethanol, the Co1.29Ni1.71O4 microstructure can be facilely controlled, and different nanostructures such as microflowers, nanorods, and nanoparticles were obtained. All three as-synthesized samples have a mesoporous structure, but with different pore-size distributions, in which the nanorod sample exhibits the highest capacity, good rate capability, and cycle stability as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The possible reason might be that the one-dimensional structure of the nanorods accounts for their higher conductivity relative to microflowers and nanoparticles, and their high conductivity coupled with their mesoporous structure might contribute to their excellent electrochemical performance.