Synthesis of Micro/nanostructured Co9S8 Cubes and Spheres as High Performance Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract Micro/nanostructured Co 9 S 8 cubes and spheres (S-Co 9 S 8 ) were successfully prepared with Co 3 O 4 as templates via the vapor-based anion exchange reaction. The morphology and structure of both materials were characterized by SEM and XRD. Co 9 S 8 microcubes and microspheres were composed of nanoparticles, inheriting the micro/nanostructure of Co 3 O 4 precursors. Tested in lithium ion batteries, C-Co 9 S 8 and S-Co 9 S 8 anodes exhibited high specific capacities, excellent cycle stability (C-Co 9 S 8 : 369 mAh g −1 , S-Co 9 S 8 : 370 mAh g −1 over 300 cycles at 1C) and high rate performances (C-Co 9 S 8 : 450 mAh g −1 , S-Co 9 S 8 : ∼430 mAh g −1 at 5C).