Recent discovery of a multifunctional metallo-organic precursor for fabricating Co3O4/N-doped porous carbon by one-step in situ pyrolysis as an anode material for Li-ion batteries

Abstract

A metallo-organic cobalt phthalocyanine (denoted as Co-Ph), which has a cobalt core and a N-containing conjugated organic shell, has recently been discovered as a source of C, N, and Co, applying as a single precursor for fabricating Co3O4/nitrogen-doped porous carbon (denoted as Co3O4/N-PC) by one-step pyrolysis. Cobalt phthalocyanine has a N-containing conjugated organic shell and benefiting from the restriction of the organic ligands, Co atoms form 20 nm Co3O4 particles and well distribute in N-doped carbon during pyrolysis. The obtained product has well-embedded Co3O4 particles, and the porous N-doped carbon provides abundant channels for Li-ion transport and serves as a conductive network, increasing charge/discharge efficiency and reducing electrode resistance. Owing to these advantages, the composite shows good electrochemical performances when applied as an anode in a Li-ion battery. For instance, it has high initial discharge and charge capacities of 1336.7 and 849.8 mAh g−1, respectively, at 200 mA g−1, and it retains a reversible capacity of 577.0 mAh g−1 after 236 cycles at a range of current densities. Moreover, this method greatly reduces the cost of production and may be extended to produce a range of metal oxide/N-PC materials, for instance ZnO/N-PC.