Rational Construction of Self-Standing Layered Polyhedral Co₃O₄/CoS₂ Heterostructure Materials Boosting Superior Lithium Storage Performance

The increasing demands of electric vehicles and portable electronics have stimulated enhanced investigations on lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high capacity, increased rate capability, and long cycle stability. Transition metal oxides (TMOs) are regarded as the most promising anode materials for LIBs due to their higher theoretical capacity. However, the low conductivity and poor rate-capability of the TMOs have seriously restricted their further development in the LIBs. Herein, layered polyhedral cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄)/cobalt disulifde (CoS₂) with heterostructure is directly grown on carbon cloth (CC) via a facile hydrothermal method and one-step sulfuration process for use as an anode. The heterostructures can effectively enhance the charge transfer capability due to the interfacial effect between Co₃O₄ and CoS₂. Due to the decrease of the diffusion barrier on the nanocrystalline surface, the electrical conductivity of the material is significantly increased, the ionic diffusion resistance is significantly reduced, and the interface electron transfer increases. The Co₃O₄/CoS₂//CC can deliver a high capacity (1545.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹) and outstanding cycling life (493 mAh g⁻¹ after 300 cycles). This method provides a new idea and choice for the application of heterogeneous anode materials for LIBs.