Graphene-Embedded Co₃O₄ Rose-Spheres for Enhanced Performance in Lithium Ion Batteries

Co₃O₄ has been widely studied as a promising candidate as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. However, the huge volume change and structural strain associated with the Li⁺ insertion and extraction process leads to the pulverization and deterioration of the electrode, resulting in a poor performance in lithium ion batteries. In this paper, Co₃O₄ rose-spheres obtained via hydrothermal technique are successfully embedded in graphene through an electrostatic self-assembly process. Graphene-embedded Co₃O₄ rose-spheres (G-Co₃O₄) show a high reversible capacity, a good cyclic performance, and an excellent rate capability, e.g., a stable capacity of 1110.8 mAh g^-1 at 90 mA g^-1 (0.1 C), and a reversible capacity of 462.3 mAh g^-1 at 1800 mA g^-1 (2 C), benefitted from the novel architecture of graphene-embedded Co₃O₄ rose-spheres. This work has demonstrated a feasible strategy to improve the performance of Co₃O₄ for lithium-ion battery application.