Hybrid CuO-Co3O4 nanosphere/RGO sandwiched composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Hybrid CuO-Co3O4 nanosphere building blocks have been embedded between the layered nanosheets of reduced graphene oxides with a 3D hybrid architecture (CuO-Co3O4-RGO), which are successfully applied as enhanced anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The CuO-Co3O4-RGO sandwiched nanostructures exhibit a reversible capacity of ∼847 mA·h·g−1 after 200 cycles’ cycling at 100 mA·g−1 with a capacity retention of 79%. The CuO-Co3O4-RGO compounds show superior electrochemical properties than the comparative CuO-Co3O4, Co3O4 and CuO anodes, which may be ascribed to the following reasons: the hybridizing multicomponent can probably give the complementary advantages; the mutual benefit of uniformly distributing nanospheres across the layered RGO nanosheets can avoid the agglomeration of both the RGO nanosheets and the CuO-Co3O4 nanospheres; the three dimensional (3D) storage structure as well as the graphene wrapped composite could enhance the electrical conductivity and reduce volume expansion effect associated with the discharge-charge process.