Preparation and application of hollow ZnFe₂O₄@PANI hybrids as high performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

ZnFe₂O₄, a type of mixed transition metal oxide, is considered as one of the most attractive potential anode materials for LIBs due to its high reversible capacity and satisfactory structural stability. However, the low conductivity and the serious volume exchange during the electrochemical process are still two main issues for ZnFe₂O₄. In this study, we first designed conductive PANI layer coated hollow ZnFe₂O₄ nanospheres by micro emulsion polymerization. Two strategies of hollow structure and PANI coating were attempted to relieve expansion and increase conductivity. The results show that the as-designed hollow ZnFe₂O₄@PANI composites exhibited a large initial specific capacity of 1489.38 mA h g^-1 with the first discharge that is maintained at over 607.3 mA h g^-1 even after 50 charge-discharge cycles.