Hollow mesoporous heterostructures negative electrode comprised of CoFe2O4@Fe3O4 for next generation lithium ion batteries

Hollow structured mixed metal oxides (MMOs) with porous outer shell have recently been emerged as advantageous candidates for energy conversion and storage applications due to their outstanding electrochemical properties. In this report, the novel bi-component-active hollow CoFe2O4@Fe3O4 nanospheres with the mesoporous outer shells (HCFO-POS) were successfully prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. The as-synthesized HCFO-POS was evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion battery (LIB), it exhibits excellent electrochemical properties for lithium storage. To be specific, it can deliver a decent specific capacity of 365 mAh g−1 even at a high current density of 1000 mA g−1 with cycling stability up to 500 cycles. The aforementioned excellent performance of this HCFO-POS electrode can be explained based on i) unique mesoporous nature which could buffer the volume change, shorten the diffusion path of Li+ ions during the lithiation/delithiation process, enhances the effective contact area between electrolyte/electrode interface and finally. ii) synergistic effect of mixed metal oxides which helps to improve the conductivity of the electrode.