Micro-emulsion strategy used to prepare soybean oil-tailored 1D porous ZnCo2O4 cuboid morphology providing a durable performance of the anodes of lithium ion batteries

1D porous ZnCo₂O₄ cuboids tailored by green natural soybean oil (SZCO) were harvested by a facile micro-emulsion strategy and were used as anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The as-prepared ZnCo₂O₄ particles in a length range of 20–50 μm are characterized by 1D porous cuboid architecture and large specific surface area, exhibiting a high initial coulombic efficiency of 80.6%, good cycling durability and considerable specific capacity of 1029.3 mA h g⁻¹ at 1000 mA g⁻¹ even after 400 cycles. Furthermore, the electrode owns superior rate capability such as 1309.8, 1190.5, 954.9 and 724.4 mA h g⁻¹ at current densities of 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 mA g⁻¹, respectively. The achieved electrochemical properties are ascribed to the favourable morphology, which increases the number of electrochemical active sites, contains effective diffusion channels, and inhibits drastic volume variations during repetitive Li-incorporation and removal.