Enhanced Electrochemical performance at high temperature of Cobalt Oxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites and its application in lithium-ion batteries

We report a microwave irradiation method for the preparation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based Co(3)O(4) nanocomposites as anodes for lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries. The Co(3)O(4)/RGO nanocomposites displayed good electrochemical behavior as anodic materials for li-ion batteries when compared to pure Co(3)O(4). The Co(3)O(4)/RGO nanocomposites with low RGO content resulted in stable electrochemical performance with 100% coulombic efficiency at a high current density of 500 mA/g for 50 cycles. The enhanced capacity of the Co(3)O(4)/RGO nanocomposites is due to the incorporation of RGO, which resulted in a four times larger surface area than that of Co(3)O(4). This increased surface area could facilitate the absorption of more lithium ions, resulting in excellent electrochemical performance. Interestingly, the novelty of this work is that the designed li-ion batteries showed stable electrochemical performance even at a high temperature of 100 °C, which might be useful for rechargeable battery applications in a wide temperature range.