Preparation and electrochemical properties of Co3O4/graphite composites as anodes of lithium ion batteries

Co₃O₄/graphite composites were synthesized by precipitation of cobalt oxalate on the surface of graphite and pyrolysis of the precipitate, and the effects of graphite content and calcination temperature on the electrochemical properties of the composites were investigated. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and charge/discharge measurements. With increasing the graphite content, the reversible capacity of the Co₃O₄/graphite composites decreases, while cycling stability improves dramatically, and the addition of graphite obviously decreases the average potential of lithium intercalation/deintercalation. The reversible capacity of the composites with 50% graphite rises from 583 to 725 mA·h/g as the calcination temperature increases from 300 to 500 °C, and the Co₃O₄/graphite composites synthesized at 400 °C show the best cycling stability without capacity loss in the initial 20 cycles. The CV profile of the composite presents two couples of redox peaks, corresponding to the lithium intercalaction/deintercalation for graphite and Co₃O₄, respectively. EIS studies indicate that the electrochemical impedance decreases with increasing the graphite content.