Atomic layer deposition of aluminum-doped zinc oxide onto MoO3 nanorods toward enhanced lithium storage performance

An atomic layer deposition (ALD) of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) onto MoO3 nanorods (denoted as MoO3@AZO) was developed to enhance the lithium storage performance of MoO3 anode. Thanks to the highly conductive and robust AZO layer, the MoO3@AZO electrode demonstrated high pseudocapacitive contribution (76.2 % at 1.0 mV s−1), enhanced electron/ion transferability, outstanding rate performance (708 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1) and excellent cycling stability (973 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 with a high capacity retention of 92.8 %) when applied as an anode for lithium-ion batteries. Ex-situ transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the rod feature of MoO3@AZO was well retained with the protection of the AZO layer even after 100 cycles. Moreover, the ALD-AZO coating may also be commonly used for other metal oxides to enhance their electron conductivity and structural stability.