Local Built‐In Electric Field Enabled in Carbon‐Doped Co3O4 Nanocrystals for Superior Lithium‐Ion Storage

Abstract In this work, a novel concept of introducing a local built‐in electric field to facilitate lithium‐ion transport and storage within interstitial carbon (C‐) doped nanoarchitectured Co 3 O 4 electrodes for greatly improved lithium‐ion storage properties is demonstrated. The imbalanced charge distribution emerging from the C‐dopant can induce a local electric field, to greatly facilitate charge transfer. Via the mechanism of “surface locking” effect and in situ topotactic conversion, unique sub‐10 nm nanocrystal‐assembled Co 3 O 4 hollow nanotubes (HNTs) are formed, exhibiting excellent structural stability. The resulting C‐doped Co 3 O 4 HNT‐based electrodes demonstrate an excellent reversible capacity ≈950 mA h g −1 after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g −1 and superior rate performance with ≈853 mA h g −1 at 10 A g −1 .