Binary transition metal oxides have attracted great attention as high-performance electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries in recent years. Herein, monodisperse NiCo₂O₄ porous microcubes were prepared for the first time via a simple urea-assisted solvothermal method followed by a thermal decomposition process. The porous microcubes assembled by nanoparticles with a size of ca. 35 nm have an average edge length of 1.5 μm. Nitrogen sorption isotherms show that this structure possesses a high surface area of 26.26 m² g⁻¹ with an average pore diameter of 22.57 nm. The rich mesopores among NiCo₂O₄ microcubes not only provide a large electrode/electrolyte reaction interface, but also provide enough void space to accommodate the volume change and prevent electronic disconnection in the electrode material during cycling. Furthermore, primary nanoparticles with a smaller size within microcubes can facilitate rapid Li-ion transport. So, when the as-prepared porous NiCo₂O₄ microcubes are used as anode materials for Li-ion batteries, they exhibit high-rate capability and outstanding cyclability.

中文翻译：

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方便地制备单分散NiCo ₂ O ₄多孔微立方体作为锂离子电池的高容量负极材料†

近年来，二元过渡金属氧化物作为锂离子电池的高性能电极材料备受关注。本文中，首先通过简单的尿素辅助溶剂热法制备单分散的NiCo ₂ O ₄多孔微颗粒，然后进行热分解过程。多孔微立方体是由大小约为1的纳米颗粒组装而成的。35 nm的平均边长为1.5μm。氮吸附等温线显示该结构具有26.26 m ² g ^-1的高表面积，平均孔径为22.57 nm。NiCo ₂ O _4中的丰富中孔微立方不仅提供了大的电极/电解质反应界面，而且还提供了足够的空隙空间以适应体积变化并防止在循环过程中电极材料中的电子断开。此外，微立方体中尺寸较小的一次纳米颗粒可促进锂离子的快速运输。因此，当将所制备的多孔NiCo ₂ O ₄微立方体用作锂离子电池的负极材料时，它们具有高倍率性能和出色的循环性。