Construction of carbon nanoflakes shell on CuO nanowires core as enhanced core/shell arrays anode of lithium ion batteries

• CuO/C core/shell nanowire arrays are prepared by electro-deposition + ALD method.
• Carbon shell is favorable for structural stability.
• CuO/C core/shell arrays show enhanced cycle stability and high capacity.

Tailored metal oxide/carbon composite structures have attracted great attention due to potential synergistic effects and enhanced properties. In this work, novel CuO/C core/shell nanowire arrays are prepared by the combination of electro-deposition of CuO and atomic-layer-deposition-assisted formation of carbon nanoflakes shell. The CuO nanowires with diameters of ∼200 nm are homogenously coated by carbon nanoflakes shell. When evaluated as anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), compared to the unmodified CuO nanowire arrays, the CuO/C core/shell nanowire arrays exhibit improved electrochemical performances with higher capacity, better electrochemical reactivity and high-rate capability as well as superior cycling life (610 mAh g−1 at 0.5C after 290 cycles). The enhanced electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to the introduction of carbon flake shell in the core/shell nanowire arrays structure, which provides higher active material-electrolyte contact area, improved electrical conductivity, and better accommodation of volume change. The proposed method provides a new way for fabrication of high-performance metal oxides anodes of LIBs.

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