Facile fabrication of Co₃O₄/nitrogen-doped graphene hybrid materials as high performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Novel hybrid materials of well-dispersed Co₃O₄ nanoparticles with high density anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene (CNGs) are reported. The prepared CNGs show high performance as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), such as high initial discharge capacity (1080.9 mA h g⁻¹ at 50 mA g⁻¹), long cycling stability (a high reversible capacity of 867.9 mA h g⁻¹ after 350 cycles), and high rate capability (155.6 mA h g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹). The high performance arises from the synergetic effect of conductive nitrogen-doped graphene sheets and ultra-small Co₃O₄ nanoparticles, which highlights the importance of the anchoring of the small sized nanoparticles on the doped graphene sheets for applications in LIBs.