Controllable synthesis of Co3O4 nanostructures with good cycling performance and rate capacity in lithium-ion batteries

The structure modification of Co3O4 nano-parachute (i.e., nanosheets with part of nanowires as backbones) grown directly on conducting Ni foam substrates was successfully realized via a facile solution route followed by calcinations. By adjusting [OH−] value, two kinds of (Co(CO3)0.5(OH)0.11H2O) nanostructures (nanoarray and parachute-like) were obtained. Compared with other Co3O4 nanosheets, such nano-parachute not only inherits the advantages of nanosheet but also shows enormous net space between nanobuilding units. A possible formation mechanism for the two structures has been proposed. As anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, this sheet-like morphology on Ni foam exhibited enhanced lithium storage capacity