title: CoO-carbon nanofiber networks prepared by electrospinning as binder-free anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with enhanced properties.
abstract: CoOx-carbon nanofiber networks were prepared from cobalt(ii) acetate and polyacrylonitrile by an electrospinning method followed by thermal treatment. The XPS results demonstrated that the cobalt compound in CoOx-carbon obtained at 650 °C was CoO rather than Co or Co3O4. The CoO nanoparticles with diameters of about 8 nm were homogeneously distributed in the matrix of the nanofibers with diameters of 200 nm. As binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the discharge capacities of such CoO-carbon (CoO-C) composite nanofiber networks increased with the pyrolysis and annealing temperature, and the highest value was 633 mA h g(-1) after 52 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g(-1) when the CoO-C was obtained at 650 °C. In addition, the rate capacities of the CoO-C obtained at 650 °C were found to be higher than that of the sample annealed at a lower temperature and pure carbon nanofiber networks annealed at 650 °C. The improved properties of CoO-C nanofiber networks were ascribed to nanofibers as the framework to keep the structural stability, and favorable mass and charge transport. The present study may provide a new strategy for the synthesis of binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries with excellent properties.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, P.R. China. thwang@hnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uchaker
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Qifeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Taihong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guozhong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jiangyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li