Solution-liquid-solid growth of CuInTe2 nanowires as lithium-ion battery anodes

Abstract For the first time, CuInTe 2 nanowires in I–III–VI 2 chalcopyrite ternary system were synthesized via the bismuth (Bi)-seeded solution-liquid-solid (SLS) growth under 350 °C. CuInTe 2 nanowires were made by using the mixture of Cu(acac) 2 , InCl 3 and Te powder as precursors, bismuth 2-ethylhexanoate [Bi[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 3 ] as growth seed solution and tri-n-octylphosphine (TOP) as solvents, respectively. As-made CuInTe 2 nanowires are single crystals with a tetragonal chalcopyrite structure with diameters ranging from 10 to 200 nm. In addition, as an anode material in the lithium ion batteries, the capacity of CuInTe 2 nanowires in charging/discharging rate of 0.1C capacity of 780 mAh/g after 200 cycles (1C = 572 mAh/g), showing the accomplished reversibility. Furthermore, the discharge capacity (385 mAh/g) at 5C rate is still higher than the theoretical capacity of graphite (372 mAh/g), showing the attractive performance in the fast charging/discharging rates.