Recent progress in cobalt‐based compounds as high‐performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries

Abstract Despite carbonaceous materials are widely employed as commercial negative electrodes for lithium ion battery, an urge requirement for new electrode materials that meet the needs of high energy density, long cycle life, low cost and safety is still underway. A number of cobalt‐based compounds (Co(OH) 2 , Co 3 O 4 , CoN, CoS, CoP, NiCo 2 O 4 , etc.) have been developed over the past years as promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high theoretical capacity, rich redox reaction and adequate cyclability. The LIBs performances of the cobalt‐based compounds have been significantly improved in recent years, and it is anticipated that these materials will become a tangible reality for practical applications in the near future. However, the different types of cobalt‐based compounds will result in diverse electrochemical performance. This review briefly analyzes recent progress in this field, especially highlights the synthetic approaches and the prepared nanostructures of the diverse cobalt‐based compounds and their corresponding performances in LIBs, including the storage capacity, rate capability, cycling stability and so on.