Facile synthesis of porous CoFe₂O₄ nanosheets for lithium-ion battery anodes with enhanced rate capability and cycling stability

Porous CoFe₂O₄ nanosheets, having the thickness of 30-60 nm and lateral size of several microns with numerous penetrating pores, are synthesized via thermal decomposition of (CoFe₂) _1/3C₂O₄·2H₂O nanosheets, which are facilely prepared through a poly(vinyl alcohol)-assisted precipitation-cum-self-assembly process in an aqueous medium. The obtained porous CoFe₂O₄ nanosheets are employed as anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The anode exhibits excellent rate capability and cycling stability. When discharging-charging at 1 A g^-1 and 2 A g^-1, it can deliver discharge capacities as high as 806 mA h g ^-1 and 648 mA h g^-1, respectively, each for 200 cycles. This makes the porous CoFe₂O₄ nanosheets promising candidates for anode materials in high-energy and high-power LIBs.