Co3O4 hollow dodecahedrons with controllable interiors are prepared through direct pyrolysis of ZIF-67 and exhibit high performance for Li-ion storage.

Monodisperse sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) microspheres are employed as both the template and carbon source to prepare MoS2 quasi-hollow microspheres-encapsulated porous carbon. The synthesis procedure involves the hydrothermal growth of MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets on the surface of SPS microspheres and subsequent annealing to remove SPS core. Incomplete decomposition of SPS during annealing due to the confining effect of MoS2 shells leaves residual porous carbon in the interior. When being evaluated as the anode materials of Li-ion batteries, the as-prepared C@MoS2 microspheres exhibit excellent cycling stability (95% of capacity retained after 100 cycles) and high rate behavior (560 mAh g(-1) at 5 A g(-1)).

Hierarchical structured carbon@MoS2 (C@MoS2) microspheres and nanospheres composed of carbon-sandwiched monolayered MoS2 building blocks are synthesized through a facile one-pot polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) micelle-assisted hydrothermal route. The dimension and carbon content of C@MoS2 spheres are effectively controlled by singly adjusting the concentration of PVP, which plays the dual functions of soft-template and carbon source. As the anode materials of Li-ion batteries, C@MoS2 nanospheres present considerably higher capacity, better rate behavior and cycling stability than C@MoS2 microspheres. The reasons are attributed to the unique interconnected nanospherical morphology and the internal hierarchical construction of C@MoS2 nanospheres with expanded MoS2/carbon interlayer spacing.

Hierarchical V2O5 microspheres composed of stacked platelets are fabricated through a facile, low-cost, and energy-saving approach. The preparation procedure involves a room-temperature precipitation of precursor microspheres in aqueous solution and subsequent calcination. Because of this unique structure, V2O5 microspheres manifest a high capacity (266 mA h g(-1)), excellent rate capability (223 mA h g(-1) at a current density 2400 mA g(-1)), and good cycling stability (200 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles) as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

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