A facile room-temperature route to flower-like CuO microspheres with greatly enhanced lithium storage capability

Abstract

Pure-phase flower-like CuO porous microspheres with a sheet-like subunit-assembled micro/nano structure are prepared by a facile “alkali-oxidizing solution etching assisted crystallization based on microscale Cu particles” route, which manifest greatly enhanced Li storage properties: the initial discharge capacity of ∼1220 mAh g−1 and reversible capacity of ∼800 mAh g−1 at a current density of 50 mA g−1. Even cycled at a current density of 400 mA g−1, they still deliver stable capacity with a comparable value of 666 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles.