Hierarchical Molybdenum Dioxide Microflowers Encapsulating Nickel Nanoparticles for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes

Herein, we propose a strategy to prepare Ni/MoO 2 microflowers (Ni/MoO 2 /C) for lithium‐ion batteries through a facile aqueous phase reaction at room temperature. NiMoO 4 nanowires, as the Ni and Mo source, can chelate with dopamine to form a hierarchical microflower structure. The nickel content and the structure have significant influence on the performance for the final product. In the electrochemical measurements, the Ni/MoO 2 /C electrode reveals a high initial discharge capacity of 1117.3 mA h g −1 and a high capacity retention of 693.3 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles after an activated process at 1 A g −1 . Meanwhile, an excellent rate capability from 0.1 A to 5 A g −1 , where the discharge capacity is 1374 to 406 mA h g −1 , is obtained. The high capability suggests that Ni/MoO 2 /C may be a promising candidate as an anode material for lithium‐ion batteries.