Hollow porous CuO/C composite microcubes derived from metal-organic framework templates for highly reversible lithium-ion batteries

Hollow porous CuO/C composite microcubes are prepared by controlled pyrolysis of [Cu3(btc)2]n (btc = benzene-1, 3, 5-tricarboxylate) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). SEM and TEM images indicate that the as-prepared CuO/C microcubes possess uniform appearance with hollow porous structures. Electrochemical measurements show that the hollow porous CuO/C composite microcubes deliver a highly reversible capacity of 510.5 mA h g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1. Due to its hollow porous structure and the enhanced conductivity of residual carbon, the rate performance delivers excellent reversible capacity of 232.78 mA h g−1 at a high current rate of 3.2 A g−1. The recycled morphology could remain the original structure, further indicating that the microcubes are resistant to collapse and more suitable for lithium-ion batteries storage materials.