Preparation and electrochemical performances of ZnMoO4-ZnFe2O4 composite electrode materials

As a typical transition metal oxide anode material, ZnMoO4 can deliver a higher theoretical capacity of 951.6 mAh g−1 due to its variable oxidation state and alloying reaction. However, lower conductivity and huge volumetric expansion restrict its further development. Herein, the modified sol–gel method is applied to synthesize a series of (1-x)ZnMoO4-xZnFe2O4 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) composites. The effects of compound proportion of ZnFe2O4 on the crystal phase structure and morphology for ZnMoO4 have been investigated in detail. All the composites have been conducted on electrochemical measurements, and the results illustrate that the composites display better electrochemical performance than that of ZnMoO4. Especially for 0.6ZnMoO4-0.4ZnFe2O4, it can deliver a capacity of 550.7 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g−1. Moreover, it also presents the higher capacity at higher current density. The improvement of electrochemical performance should be attributed to the synergistic effect of ZnFe2O4 and ZnMoO4.