Nano-Co3O4 anchored helical carbon nanofibers as an anode material for Li-ion batteries

Abstract

Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs were firstly prepared successfully via a simple and inexpensive oil-bath method. Within the hybrid composite, the HCNFs and Co 3 O 4 show a synergistic effect to improve the specific capacity and cycling stability of Lithium-ion batteries. • A novel Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs anode composite was first introduced for lithium-ion batteries. • A simple two-step approach was successfully used to prepare the Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs composite material. • Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs composites make an obvious advantage as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In the current work, the Co 3 O 4 /helical carbon nanofibers (Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs) composite was successfully obtained by using a simple and inexpensive two-step method and applied as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The results showed that Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles (the nanoparticle size of 10–20 nm) were anchored on the surface of helical carbon nanofibers. The Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs anode displays an excellent cyclability of 853 mAh/g after 200 cycles under the current density of 200 mA/g (327.7 %, 183.7 %, and 172.0 % higher than the pure HCNFs, pure Co 3 O 4 , and Co 3 O 4 -HCNFs respectively). The superior electrochemistry capability of the Co 3 O 4 /HCNFs composites are mainly thankful to the specific 3D helical structure of HCNFs, which can not only accommodate the volume expansion of nano-Co 3 O 4 during charge–discharge process, but also greatly enhance the conductivity of Co 3 O 4 . Therefore, this research provides a novel method to exploiting an excellent and stable anode material for enhanced LIBs.