Facile Synthesis of Two-Dimensional Porous MgCo2O4 Nanosheets as Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have drawn considerable attention due to their high energy density and good cycling stability. As a transition-metal oxide, MgCo2O4 (MCO) is a promising candidate for energy storage applications because of its low-cost and environmental characteristics. Here, MCO porous nanosheets have been successfully synthesized by a microwave-assisted liquid phase method followed by an annealing procedure. As a result, MCO annealed at 600 °C exhibited optimal rate and cycling performances for Lithium storage application. Specifically, when tested as anode materials for Lithium ion batteries, MCO porous nanosheets delivered a high specific capacity of 1173.8 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1, and the specific capacity reached 1130.1 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g−1, achieving 96.3% for the retention rate. The excellent electrochemical performances are mainly attributed to the monolayer porous nanosheet, which provides short transport paths for Li ions and electrons. Results demonstrated that the MCO porous nanosheets are promising electrode materials for Lithium ion batteries applications.