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A facile synthesis of novel urchin-like NiCo2O4 hierarchical hollow microspheres has been developed based on a template-free solvothermal and subsequent calcination method. The growth process of NiCo2O4 hollow microsphere precursors has been investigated, and a plausible mechanism was proposed. Because of their unique structure and high specific surface area, these NiCo2O4 hollow microspheres displayed enhanced electrochemical properties in methanol electrooxidation and determination of heavy-metal ions compared with solid urchin-like NiCo2O4 microspheres, Co3O4, and NiO microspheres. The good electrochemical performances suggested that these unique hierarchical NiCo2O4 hollow microspheres could be promising materials for energy and environmentally related applications.
Yu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.