Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Carbon-Composited CoO Microspheres as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Cobalt (II, III) oxide (CoO) has recently gained attention as an alternative anode material to commercial graphite in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its superior safety and large theoretical capacity of about 890 mAh g. However, its practical application is limited by poor electrical conductivity and rapid capacity degradation because of significant volume increases and structural strain during repeated lithiation/delithiation cycles. To address these issues, this work presents a novel approach to synthesizing carbon-composited CoO microspheres (CoO@C), using abietic acid (AA) as a carbon source to increase conductivity and structural stability. The resulting CoO@C anodes show an impressive discharge capacity of 1557.4 mAh g after 200 cycling processes at a current density of 0.1 C, representing a significant improvement over bare CoO. This study demonstrates the potential of carbon-compositing as a strategy to mitigate the limitations of CoO and extend its cyclability, making it a viable candidate for next-generation LIB anodes.