Fabrication of Copper(II) Oxide Hollow Nanosphere Using ABC Block Copolymer Templates and Its Application as Anode Materials in Lithium Ion Batteries

Copper oxide (CuO) hollow nanospheres have been fabricated by using a micelle of poly(styrene-block-acrylic acid-block-ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PAA-b-PEG) as a template. The TEM image reveals that the diameter of the synthesized nanosphere is 40 ± 1 nm with a shell thickness 10 ± 1 nm. The CuO nanosphere electrode delivers high capacity at 350 mA h g−1 after 30 cycles, which is associated to the hollow void space coupled with the nanosized shell domain that facilitates fast lithium diffusion.