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

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.