Fabrication and electrochemical performance of delafossite CuFeO 2 particles as a stable anode material for lithium-ion batteries

The delafossite CuFeO 2 anode materials have been successfully synthesized by hydrothermal process with different temperatures. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that two structural polytypes of CuFeO 2 with 3R-CuFeO 2 and 2H-CuFeO 2 are obtained. The results of field-emission scanning electronic microscopy confirm that all CuFeO 2 crystals display both hexagonal and rhyombohedral morphologies, which are in good agreement with XRD results. It can be clearly observed that particles sizes of CuFeO 2 are increased and the size distributions of particles become broader as hydrothermal temperature increasing. Electrochemical results show that the CuFeO 2 particles synthesized at 180 °C for 24 h display the best electrochemical performance and superior cycle performance. The CuFeO 2 materials obtained at 180 °C for 24 exhibit a high reversible capacity and high-rate capability (a reversible capability of 390, 276, 185, 133, and 85 mA h g − 1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2C, respectively) with good cycling performance (approximate 6.8% capacity loss after 500 cycles at 1C with a capacity retention of 124 mA h g − 1 ). The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the small particle size and narrow size distributions. It is believed that obtained CuFeO 2 crystals as anode materials with high reversible capacity, good rate capability and cyclic stability may be potential candidates for applying in lithium-ion batteries.