A novel porous CuO nanorod/rGO composite as a high stability anode material for lithium-ion batteries

The porous copper oxide (CuO)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal procedure using urea as a foaming agent. The CuO nanorods possessed vermicular pore channel with diameter of 4 nm and aspect ratio of 5:1, and were homogeneously grown on the surface of rGO sheets. The vermicular pore channel offered more sites for the storage and insertion of Li ions, as well as accelerated electrolyte diffusion and Li-ion transport. The electrochemical properties of the CuO/rGO nanocomposite as the anode material for lithium-ion battery were studied. It is found that the as-synthesized CuO/rGO nanocomposite showed an initial reversible capacity of 819 mA h/g and the specific capacity of 480 mA h/g after 50 cycles at a current density of 70 mA/g, which is due to the unique porous structure of CuO with high surface area and the presence of rGO that could improve lithium-ion mobility, shorten the distance for Li+ diffusion, facilitate the transport of electrons and accommodate the large volume changes. With these outstanding performance, the CuO/rGO nanocomposite hold great promise as an advanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.