Facile synthesis of spongy NiCo₂O₄ powders for lithium-ion storage

Spongy NiCo₂O₄ powders were prepared by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method for lithium ions storage. The effects of combustion parameters including fuel type (L-lysine, glycine, and urea) and fuel amount on the lithium storage performance of NiCo₂O₄ powders were analyzed by various characterization techniques. Single-phase NiCo₂O₄ powders with extremely porous microstructure showed a strong drop of initial specific capacity up to 350 mAhg^-1 which was recovered up to 666 mAhg^-1 following 100 charge/discharge cycles. However, the NiCo₂O₄ powders prepared by the urea and L-lysine fuels with the compacted microstructure showed the capacity loss without any recovery. The spongy NiCo₂O₄ powders showed an acceptable capability rate performance (404 mAhg^-1 @ 400 mAg^-1).