Hierarchical dispersed multi-phase nickel cobalt oxide mesoporous thorn microspheres as superior rate anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Hierarchical nickel cobalt oxide (NCO) microspheres comprised of nanoscale mesoporous thorn arrays are developed as superior rate high capacity anodes in this work, i.e. 1063.3 and 860 mA h g−1 at 180 and 4500 mA g−1, respectively. Stoichiometric urea serves as a self-template to favor the self-assembly of well-organized NiCo(OH)2CO3 thorn microsphere precursors under an optimized hydrothermal reaction. The dispersed multi-phase hybrid crystal structure and the favorable specific surface area obtained during the controlled pyrolysis of NiCo(OH)2CO3 microspheres markedly promote the cyclic stability of the single phase Ni1.5Co1.5O4.