Self-assembly of flower-like MoO3-NiO microspheres with carbon coating as high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Abstract Carbon-coated flower-like MoO3-NiO microspheres (FL-MNO@C) are successfully synthesized by a facile two-step method, which involves a citric-assisted hydrothermal self-assembly process followed by an amorphous carbon coverage process. The monodispersed flower-like microspheres are composed of loosely stacked nanosheets with a thickness of ∼50\u202fnm, in which MoO3 and NiO nanoparticles are dispersed homogenously. As anode material for lithium ion batteries, the electrode exhibits a capacity of 944\u202fmAh\u202fg−1 at 100\u202fmA\u202fg−1 up to 100 cycles, and even retains a reversible capacity of 481\u202fmAh\u202fg−1 at 2000\u202fmA\u202fg−1 after 2000 cycles. The features of good electrochemical performance and easy to mass production make the FL-MNO@C composite potential candidate as high performance anode material for practical application in lithium-ion batteries.