Ag ion kinetically tailored surface and interface engineering of Cu2O nanocrystals to modulate the Li-ion battery performance

Abstract

The surface and interface engineering of Cu2O is successfully accomplished in one pot via an extremely simple solid-solute method with the assistance of Ag ions. In the synthesis process, the Ag ion plays dual roles. Specifically, Ag ions accelerate the nucleation rate of Cu2O via engineering with kinetic control and act as precursors for the formation of metal Ag at the modified interface. This design avoids the use of presynthesized nano/microcrystals and a second deposition or epitaxial growth of a second material on the surfaces of prepared nano/microcrystals. The size of Cu2O sharply decreases to 100 nm with the deposition of Ag nanoparticles. The electrode materials of sub-100 nm Ag-Cu2O possess synergistic benefits of the reduced size and the interface engineering with metal nanoparticles. When evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the hybrid structure of Ag-Cu2O showed an enhanced specific capacity and excellent rate performance.