Morphology Engineering of Self-Assembled Nanostructured CuCo2O4 Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The electrochemical kinetics and output capacity of active electrode materials are significantly influenced by their surface structure. Herein, the template-free morphological evolution of CuCo2O4 is reported, which is achieved by controlling the nucleation and growth rate during the hydrothermal process and evaluating its anode performance. The charge-transfer resistance and specific surface area of the fabricated CuCo2O4 anode films are influenced by the viscosity of the solvent used. The optimized mesoporous nanosheet anode exhibits a high specific discharge capacity (1547 mAh g(-1)) at 0.1 A g(-1) and an excellent restoring capability (approximate to 91%); it retains 88% of the initial capacity with a coulombic efficiency of approximate to 99% even after 250 discharge-charge cycles. The superior lithium-ion energy storage performance of this anode is due to its electrochemically favorable porous 2D morphology with large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area and pore volume, resulting in enhanced Li+ storage and intercalation property.