Flower-like porous cobalt(II) monoxide nanostructures as anode material for Li-ion batteries

•Microwave-assisted route has been used for rapid synthesis on nanomaterials.•Cobalt monoxide has been synthesized in pure phase.•Li ion storing ability of these nanomaterials are studied

In the present study, a microwave-assisted, solution-based route has been employed to obtain porous CoO nanostructures. Detailed characterization reveals that the flower-like nanostructures comprise petal-like sheets, each of which is made of an ordered, porous arrangement of crystallites of CoO measuring about 6 nm. TEM analysis shows that each “petal” is an oriented aggregate of CoO nanocrystals, such aggregation promoted by the hydroxyl moieties derived from the solution. The structure provides a large specific area as well as the porosity desirable in electrodes in Li-ion batteries. Electrochemical measurements carried out on electrodes made of nanostructured CoO show excellent Li ion-storing capability. A specific capacitance of 779 mAh g− 1 has been measured at a specific current of 100 mA g− 1. Measurements show also excellent cyclability and coulombic efficiency. Impedance spectroscopy provides evidence for charge transfer occurring in the porous networks.