Temperature-induced microstructure optimization of Co₃O₄ for the achievement of a high-areal-capacity carbon cloth-based lithium ion battery anode

Traditionally, transition metal oxides (TMOs)-based electrodes suffer from remarkable volume expansion and high risk of electrode pulverization during lithium intercalation and extraction. To tackle this issue, various structures have been incorporated into electrode structural design of TMOs. Herein, through the in-situ growth of cobalt-based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and subsequent calcination at various temperatures, MOF-derived Co₃O₄ nanosheets of three distinct structures are obtained on carbon cloth. Through investigation into the effect of temperature on microstructure and microstructure-electrochemical property relationship, the carbon cloth based Co₃O₄ nanosheets electrode obtained at 500 °C is found out to demonstrate the highest lithium storage capabilities due to embedded porous structures and ultrafine crystallite sizes of Co₃O₄. This work presents an effective approach to optimize electrochemical properties, which is based on the temperature-induced electrode design. The findings in this study can be translated to the design of other high-area-capacity CC-based electrode for use in lithium ion batteries.