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Updated: May 17, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Surfactant-free scalable synthesis of hierarchically spherical Co3O4 superstructures and their enhanced lithium-ion
Xiaohui Guo1, Weiwei Xu, Sirong Li
1Key Lab of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule Chemistry of Ministry of Education, and The College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, People's Republic of China. guoxh2009@nwu.edu.cn
Abstract:
Unique hierarchically porous spherical Co(3)O(4) superstructures were synthesized via a surfactant-free hydrothermal process followed by a calcination treatment, in which the concentration of reactant cobalt (II) nitrate hexahydrate is a key factor affecting the morphology of products. X-ray powder diffraction, electron microscopies (TEM and SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to investigate the formation of Co(3)O(4) spherical superstructures. Our results suggest that they formed from numerous cubic Co(3)O(4) nanocrystals via an oriented attachment mechanism. These superstructures exhibit a high specific capacity of 1750 mA h g(-1) after the first charge-discharge cycle, and the capacity retention remains at a constant of 1600 mA h g(-1) at 0.2 C after 50 cycles. The facile, scalable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly nature of the presented approach renders it particularly attractive from a technological standpoint. In addition, this scalable and facile synthesis method could be extended to the preparation of other transition metal oxides with specific morphologies and surface textures.

