Facile synthesis of monodisperse Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks as an anode material for lithium ion batteries

•Highly monodisperse Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks were obtained via a facile method.•As-prepared Co3O4 have a diameter of around 2 μm with an thickness of 30 nm.•The initial discharge capacity of as-prepared Co3O4 is 1032 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g-1.•Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks shows improved capacity and cyclic stability.

The monodisperse Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks have been successfully prepared through a facile solvothermal synthesis method and subsequent heating treatment. The Co3O4 microdisks are polycrystalline, and have an average diameter of around 2 μm with an thickness of 300 nm. The specific surface area of Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks is about 108.9 m2 g−1 with a narrow pore size distribution centered at round 9.68 nm. The as-prepared Co3O4 mesoporous microdisks as anode material in lithium ion batteries exhibit a stable specific discharge–charge capacity of 765 and 749 mAh g−1 after 30 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. The good electrochemical properties could be attributed to the unique mesoporous structure of Co3O4 materials.

Graphical abstractHighly monodisperse mesoporous microdisk Co3O4 nanostructured electrode exhibit significant enhancement of lithium-ion intercalation capacity, good cyclic stability and rate performance due to its unique mesoporous structure.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide