Graphene-Embedded Co3O4 Rose-Spheres for Enhanced Performance in Lithium Ion Batteries.

Co3O4 has been widely studied as a promising candidate as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. However, the huge volume change and structural strain associated with the Li+ insertion and extraction process leads to the pulverization and deterioration of the electrode, resulting in a poor performance in lithium ion batteries. In this paper, Co3O4 rose-spheres obtained via hydrothermal technique are successfully embedded in graphene through an electrostatic self-assembly process. Graphene-embedded Co3O4 rose-spheres (G-Co3O4) show a high reversible capacity, a good cyclic performance, and an excellent rate capability, e.g., a stable capacity of 1110.8 mAh g-1 at 90 mA g-1 (0.1 C), and a reversible capacity of 462.3 mAh g-1 at 1800 mA g-1 (2 C), benefitted from the novel architecture of graphene-embedded Co3O4 rose-spheres. This work has demonstrated a feasible strategy to improve the performance of Co3O4 for lithium-ion battery application.