Exploring the impact of ligand variation on MOFs‐derived zinc cobaltate for high‐performance lithium storage

Abstract Thanks to their excellent capacity, affordability, and eco‐friendly characteristics, transition metal oxides (TMOs) hold promise as lithium‐ion battery anodes. Nevertheless, serious challenges, including low electrical conductivity and considerable volume variation during charge–discharge cycles, hinder their commercial viability. Here, Zn‐Co bimetallic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) precursors with distinct morphologies were fabricated through a solvothermal approach by employing three different organic ligands (2‐aminoterephthalic acid, 2‐methylimidazole, and terephthalic acid). After calcination, the obtained ZnCo 2 O 4 nanocomposites retained the morphology and porous features of their MOF precursors. Notably, the ZnCo 2 O 4 derived from terephthalic acid (BDC‐ZCO) exhibited an ultrathin lamellar structure, which effectively shortened ion/electron transport paths, facilitated charge transport kinetics and accelerated ionic migration, and mitigated volume variation. Benefiting from this unique structure, the BDC‐ZCO electrode maintained 695.1 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g −1 , and 510.9 mAh g −1 after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g −1 , along with excellent rate performance and cycling stability. This study demonstrates that structure‐oriented regulation through ligand selection is an effective strategy for optimizing the anode characteristics of MOFs‐derived TMOs for advanced lithium storage.