Facile synthesis of spongy NiCo2O4 powders for lithium-ion storage

Spongy NiCo2O4 powders were prepared by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method for lithium ions storage. The effects of combustion parameters including fuel type (l-lysine, glycine, and urea) and fuel amount on the lithium storage performance of NiCo2O4 powders were analyzed by various characterization techniques. Single-phase NiCo2O4 powders with extremely porous microstructure showed a strong drop of initial specific capacity up to 350 mAhg(-1) which was recovered up to 666 mAhg(-1) following 100 charge/discharge cycles. However, the NiCo2O4 powders prepared by the urea and l-lysine fuels with the compacted microstructure showed the capacity loss without any recovery. The spongy NiCo2O4 powders showed an acceptable capability rate performance (404 mAhg(-1) @ 400 mAg(-1)).