Hollow Cu2O nanospheres are successfully synthesized by employing the Ostwald ripening approach, and used as anodes in Li-ion battery. Solid Cu2O nanospheres (100-400 nm) are synthesized by a facile room-temperature chemical reaction of cupric nitrate with hydrazine, where hydrazine served as an alkali and reducing agent. Hollow Cu2O nanospheres (100-400 nm) are fabricated by Ostwald ripening where a central cavity is formed in solid nanospheres due to the growth of larger outer crystallites at the expense of smaller inner ones, which undergo mass transport through the dissolving and recrystallization processes. Hollow Cu2O nanospheres were comprised of a mesoporous shell (20-50 nm) and a hollow interior part (50-100 nm). Galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements at different current densities, slow scan cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance measurements were used to analyze the electrochemical performance of the Cu2O nanospheres. The hollow Cu2O nanospheres exhibited a capacity of ~ 650 mAh g-1 at 100 mAg-1 current density, showing greater than 80% capacity retention after 100 cycles. The electrochemical performance of hollow Cu2O nanospheres was better as compared to solid nanospheres, which is attributed to the mesoporous hollow nanostructure that ensured an increased number of electrochemical sites, shorter Li ion diffusion lengths facilitating fast electrochemical kinetics, and sufficient void spaces to buffer the volume expansion.

Morphology tailored porous hollow Cu2O nanospheres fabricated by Ostwald ripening for Li-ion battery applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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