Two-dimensional hollow carbon skeleton decorated with ultrafine Co3O4 nanoparticles for enhanced lithium storage.

[Display omitted] Transition metal oxides have shown high theoretical capacities as anode materials and have been considered as high potential materials to substitute graphite for composing new generations of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the considerable volume changes of transition metal oxide materials during practical processes have limited their applications. Herein, we report a simple approach to construct a two-dimensional (2D) hollow carbon skeleton decorated with ultrafine Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles (Co 3 O 4 /C). This composite is derived from a leaf-like zeolitic imidazolate framework-L (ZIF-L (Co)) via etching coordination using tannic acid (TA). The Co 3 O 4 /C has a unique structure consisting of 2D carbon skeleton, ultrafine Co 3 O 4 nanoparticle, and open channel, which can accelerate electron transport, alleviate volume change, and facilitate ion diffusion. Benefiting from these features, the LIBs assembled using Co 3 O 4 /C as anode material exhibits superior reversible cycle performance and impressive rate property. This study provides an efficient strategy for implementing transition metal oxide-based composites for energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]