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.