ZnO/C microboxes derived from coordination polymer particles for superior lithium ion battery anodes

Abstract

Porous ZnO/C microboxes have been synthesized simply by annealing metal–organic framework carboxylate groups. The porous ZnO/C microboxes inherited the morphology and porous character of the carboxylate groups. The microboxes possess a large BET of 179 m² g⁻¹ and a uniform pore size distribution. The porous structure of ZnO/C microboxes enforces Li⁺ diffusion and helps to buffer the volumetric variation. When tested as anode materials for lithium batteries, the ZnO/C microboxes deliver an initial discharge of 1289.7 mA h g⁻¹ and still reach a high reversible capacity of 716.2 mA h g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹.