Regulating the formation of self-supported LiCoO2 nanostructure by alkaline concentration and study on its electrochemical property.

Abstract LiCoO2 nanosheets with high crystallinity and large area were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route. The structure and morphology properties of the nanosheet are identified by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis. The experimental results show that the morphology and the thickness of the nanosheet can be tuned by simply regulating the concentration of the NaOH solution. The higher the NaOH concentration, the thinner (less than 100 nm) and larger (up to several microm) the nanosheet becomes. Moreover, the electrical properties of the as-designed nanosheet also change with the thickness of the nanosheet. The charge-discharge capacity of the LiCoO2 nanosheet tends to increase in the thinner nanosheet with a larger surface area. We proposed that the reason may be attributed to the accelerated intercalation and de-intercalation process of the lithium ion in the nanosheet.