Selective synthesis of CuO/C nanocomposites and porous CuO based on polyacrylic acid hydrogel system as high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

CuO/C nanocomposites and porous CuO were selectively synthesized by a facile, low-cost and large-scale synthesis method based on polyacrylic acid hydrogel system. As the anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the capacity of porous CuO is higher than CuO/C nanocomposites, while gradually decreases after 40 cycles due to the lack of supporting matrix. In CuO/C nanocomposites, CuO nanoparticles are uniformly embedded in the three-dimensional carbon matrix, which can buffer the large volume change, suppress the particle pulverization, and prevent the particle agglomeration of CuO nanoparticles. The capacity of CuO/C nanocomposites maintains at about 690 mAh g⁻¹ till 200th cycle.