Graphene‐Mimicking 2D Porous Co3O4 Nanofoils for Lithium Battery Applications

2D nanoscale oxides have attracted a large amount of research interest due to their unique properties. Here, a facile synthetic approach to prepare graphene‐mimicking, porous 2D Co₃O₄ nanofoils using graphene oxide (GO) as a sacrificial template is reported. The thermal instability of graphene, as well as the catalytic ability of Co₃O₄ particles to degrade carbon backbones, allow the fabrication of porous 2D Co₃O₄ nanofoils without the loss of the 2D nature of GO. Based on these results, a graphene mimicking as a route for large‐area 2D transition metal oxides for applications in electrochemical energy storage devices is proposed. As a proof of concept, it is demonstrated that graphene‐like, porous 2D Co₃O₄ nanofoils exhibit a high reversible capacity (1279.2 mAh g^?1), even after 50 cycles. This capacity is far beyond the theoretical capacity of Co₃O₄ based on the conversion mechanism from Co₃O₄ to Li₂O and metallic Co.