Chrysanthemum-like Co3O4 architectures: Hydrothermal synthesis and lithium storage performances

Three-dimensional chrysanthemum-like Co3O4 was prepared via a facile hydrothermal route without any template, and a subsequent calcination process. With a controlled concentration of the homogeneous precipitation agent, urea, a chrysanthemum-like precursor was hydrothermally obtained at 120 °C for 20 h, and the morphology was kept for Co3O4 after a subsequent calcination at 300 °C for 2 h. Co3O4 chrysanthemum-like architectures are assemblies of nanorods radiating from a common centre, and the nanorods consisted of interconnected nanoparticles with the size of about 30 nm. When tested as an anode material of Li-ion batteries, chrysanthemum-like Co3O4 presented a discharge capacity of ∼450 mA h/g after 50 discharge/charge cycles.

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