Design of Cu2O coated Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O microflower with in-situ crystallization process and enhanced Li-storage properties

Copper vanadates have received considerable attention as the novel anode materials for lithium ion battery. However, its further application was restricted by the inferior cycling performance because of their larger volume change in lithiation reaction. In this paper, an in-situ crystallization route was employed to prepare a Cu2O coated Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O three dimensional microflower (Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O@Cu2O) for lithium-ion battery anodes. The designed Cu2O layers could prevent the damage originated from the volume variation of Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O in the lithium insertion/extraction process. The cycling stability of Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O@Cu2O microflower has been significantly improved compared to pure Cu3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O. It exhibits a reversible capacity of 414mAhg−1 at the current density of 100mAg−1 after 100cycles.