<i>Bacillus Cereus</i> ‐Derived Hollow Carbon Rods/Oxygen‐Vacancy‐Rich Co ₃ O _4‐x Nanosheets by Biomineralization Strategy for Boosting Lead Ions Capture

Abstract Maintaining the electrochemical activity of cobalt‐based oxide electrodes is crucial for ion storage, yet rationally regulating their activity remains a significant challenge. This study develops a Bacillus cereus “biomineralization” strategy to construct a composite electrode material consisting of hollow‐derived carbon rods (LY) coated with oxygen vacancy‐rich Co 3 O 4‐x nanosheets (LY‐Co 3 O 4‐x ). The hollow LY provides a 3D conductive network, prevents nanosheet aggregation, and shortens ion diffusion paths.The highly dispersed Co 3 O 4‐x nanosheets rich in oxygen vacancies boost the pseudocapacitive effect, improving the electrochemical activity of Co 3 O 4 . The interfacial coupling within LY‐Co 3 O 4‐x promotes electron redistribution and facilitates rapid charge transfer, accelerating the processes of Pb 2+ hydration, dehydration of the hydration shell, and ion desolvation. Leveraging these advantages, LY‐Co 3 O 4‐x exhibits outstanding Pb 2+ removal performance. When used as a cathode, it achieves a Pb 2+ adsorption capacity of 78.7 mg g −1 and an adsorption rate of 2.62 mg g −1 min −1 , at 1.60 V, with excellent stability. This discovery opens a new pathway for utilizing microbial redox reactions to construct metal oxides and regulate their electrochemical activity.