NiCo2O4 bricks as anode materials with high lithium storage property

In this study, a novel brick-like NiCo2O4 material was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. The as-prepared NiCo2O4 material possessed high porosity with the BET specific surface area of 58.33 m2/g, and its pore size distribution was in a range of 5–15 nm with a dominant pore diameter of 10.7 nm. The electrochemical performance of the NiCo2O4 was further investigated as anode material for lithium-ion battery. The NiCo2O4 anode possessed a high lithium storage capacity up to 2353.0 mAh/g at the current density of 100 mA/g. Even at the high rate of 1 A/g, a reversible capacity of ∼600 mAh/g was still retained, and an average discharge capacity of ∼1145 mAh/g could be recovered when the current density was reduced back to 150 mA/g. Due to the simple and cost-effective process, the NiCo2O4 bricks anode material shows great potential for further large-scale applications on the area of lithium-ion battery.