Ultrafine Co3 O4 Nanoparticles within Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Matrix Derived from Metal-Organic Complex for Boosting Lithium Storage and Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

ABSTRACT

Transition metal oxides have recently received great attention for application in advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, the ethylenediaminetetraacetic cobalt complex as a precursor to synthesize ultrafine Co3 O4 nanoparticles encapsulated into a nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (NC) composites is presented. The as-prepared Co3 O4 /NC-350 obtained by pyrolysis at 350 °C demonstrates superior rate performance (372 mAh g-1 at 5.0 A g-1 ) and high cycling stability (92% capacity retention after 300 cycles at 1.0 A g-1 ) as anode for LIBs. When evaluated as an electrocatalyst for OER, the Co3 O4 /NC-350 achieves an overpotential of 298 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 . The NC-encapsualted porous hierarchical structure assures fast and continuous electron transportation, high activity sites, and strong structural integrity. This works offers novel complex precursors for synthesizing transition metal-based electrodes for boosting electrochemical energy conversion and storage.