Single and binary nickel, copper, and zinc-based nanosized oxides as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries

The demand for portable power sources with higher energy density and longer lifespan has prompted researchers to focus on developing better electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Metal oxide nanoparticles have potential due to their low cost, high surface-area-to-volume ratio, strong reactivity, excellent size distribution, high theoretical capacities, and eco-friendly synthesis methods. However, there is still room for improvement in capacity retention and rate performance. To cope with this entail, the cycle performance of LIBs has been initially investigated utilizing single metal oxide anode materials including NiO, CuO, and ZnO nanostructures. Subsequently, binary oxides of Ni–Cu, Ni–Zn, and Cu–Zn have been synthesized to examine whether the binary structures boost the battery performance. NiCuO is the optimum anode material combining the benefits of NiO with the highest initial discharge capacity of 691 mAh g ^{- 1} and the highest retention rate of CuO (49% after 30 cycles).