A facile route to prepare mixed transition metal oxide yolk–shell microspheres for enhanced lithium storage

Abstract

A coordination co-precipitation route followed by a calcination process was developed to prepare mixed transition metal oxide microspheres with a yolk–shell structure. ZnCo₂O₄, NiCo₂O₄, MnCo₂O₄, ZnMn₂O₄ and CoMn₂O₄ have been successfully fabricated, which demonstrates the universality of this route. As a promising anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), ZnCo₂O₄ was investigated as a typical example, which showed a remarkable reversible capacity of 1063 mA h g⁻¹ after 50 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g⁻¹ and a good rate capability of 839 mA h g⁻¹ after 200 cycles at a large current density of 900 mA g⁻¹. This work shows the extensive potential of a general route for the synthesis of yolk–shell microspheres for next-generation energy conversion and storage devices.