High capacity and excellent cycling stability of branched cobalt oxide nanowires as Li-insertion materials

In this paper, the authors report the high-performance lithium storage properties of branched cobalt oxide nanowires synthesized through a topotactic conversion route. Compared with other nanosized materials, such branched nanostructures not only inherit the advantages of high surface-to-volume ratio and good dispersion but also show better electronic contact and conduction between nanobuilding units. Both features facilitate charge transport and insertion/extraction of Li ions and lead to higher capacity and better cycling stability compared with other transition metal oxide nanomaterials. Under the condition of high current density of 100 mA/g, the reversible capacity after 50 cycles is up to 1043 mAhg−1 with an average fading rate of 0.15% per cycle.