Template-Engaged Synthesis of 1D Hierarchical Chainlike LiCoO2 Cathode Materials with Enhanced High-Voltage Lithium Storage Capabilities.

A novel 1D hierarchical chainlike LiCoO2 organized by flake-shaped primary particles is synthesized via a facile template-engaged strategy by using CoC2O4·2H2O as a self-sacrificial template obtained from a simple coprecipitation method. The resultant LiCoO2 has a well-built hierarchical structure, consisting of secondary micrometer-sized chains and sub-micrometer-sized primary flakes, while these primary LiCoO2 flakes have specifically exposed fast-Li+-diffused active {010} facets. Owing to this unique hierarchical structure, the chainlike LiCoO2 serves as a stable cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) operated at a high cutoff voltage up to 4.5 V, enabling highly reversible capacity, remarkable rate performance, and long-term cycle life. Specifically, the chainlike LiCoO2 can deliver a reversible discharge capacity as high as 168, 156, 150, and 120 mAh g–1 under the current density of 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5 C, respectively, while about 85% retention of the initial capacity can be retained after ...