Hydrothermal synthesis of α-Ni(OH)2 and its conversion to NiO with electrochemical properties

•α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres have been synthesized with triethanolamine.•The formation mechanism of α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres is suggested.•NiO deriving from α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres exhibits better electrochemical performances.

The paper reports the fabrication of microscale NiO matrixes with enhanced electrochemical properties through annealing the corresponding chrysanthemum-like α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres. The precursor α-Ni(OH)2 can be synthesized by a hydrothermal method using triethanolamine as the alkaline source. The formation mechanism of chrysanthemum-like α-Ni(OH)2 microspheres is properly discussed. Furthermore, the electrochemical experiments demonstrate that the microscale NiO matrixes show superior electrochemical behavior in lithium-ion batteries due to their unique structures.