Ex situ electrochemical sodiation/desodiation observation of Co3O4 anchored carbon nanotubes: a high performance sodium-ion battery anode produced by pulsed plasma in a liquid

• Published in: Nanoscale 2015-08, Vol.7 (3), p.1388-1395
• Main Authors: Rahman, Md Mokhlesur, Sultana, Irin, Chen, Zhiqiang, Srikanth, Mateti, Li, Lu Hua, Dai, Xiujuan J, Chen, Ying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03335g

Liquid plasma, produced by nanosecond pulses, provides an efficient and simple way to fabricate a nanocomposite architecture of Co 3 O 4 /CNTs from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and clusters of Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles in deionized water. The crucial feature of the composite's structure is that Co 3 O 4 nanoparticle clusters are uniformly dispersed and anchored to CNT networks in which Co 3 O 4 guarantees high electrochemical reactivity towards sodium, and CNTs provide conductivity and stabilize the anode structure. We demonstrated that the Co 3 O 4 /CNT nanocomposite is capable of delivering a stable and high capacity of 403 mA h g −1 at 50 mA g −1 after 100 cycles where the sodium uptake/extract is confirmed in the way of reversible conversion reaction by adopting ex situ techniques. The rate capability of the composite is significantly improved and its reversible capacity is measured to be 212 mA h g −1 at 1.6 A g −1 and 190 mA h g −1 at 3.2 A g −1 , respectively. Due to the simple synthesis technique with high electrochemical performance, Co 3 O 4 /CNT nanocomposites have great potential as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. A new liquid plasma method is used to fabricate a Co 3 O 4 /CNT nanocomposite anode using a nanosecond pulse atmospheric pressure for sodium-ion battery application.