Porous Co₃O₄@TiO₂ core-shell nanofibers as advanced anodes for lithium ion batteries

Metal oxide materials possess splendid application prospect in lithium ions battery. In this work, one-dimensional porous Co₃O₄@TiO₂ core-shell nanofibers (Co₃O₄@TiO₂ CSNFs) electrode material is synthesized via a convenient hydrothermal method combined with hydrolysis method. This novel structure with sufficient available space would buffer the volume variation of Co₃O₄ and facilitate the mobility of Li⁺ during cycling, which endows Co₃O₄@TiO₂ CSNFs with excellent electrochemical performances, such as good cyclability (632 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2 C and 525 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 C after 100 cycles) and superior rate performance (∼359 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 C). - Highlights: • Co₃O₄@TiO₂ has been synthesized via a simple method. • Co₃O₄@TiO₂ possesses one-dimensional porous core-shell nanofibers structure. • This novel structure endows Co₃O₄@TiO₂ with excellent electrochemical performances.