Improved electrochemical performance of CuCrO₂ anode with CNTs as conductive agent for lithium ion batteries

CuCrO₂ was synthesized by a sol-gel technique. CuCrO₂ anodes with common conductive agents (carbon black or acetylene black) show low discharge capacities. However, the electrochemical performances of CuCrO ₂ anodes are improved remarkably after replacing the ordinary conductive agent with carbon nano-tubes (CNTs). The CCO-CNTs anode possesses the 436 mA h g^-1 (0.2 C) of discharge capacity after the 80th cycle. The addition of CNTs contributed to the formation of a 3D conductive network. Such a networks structure has pivotal effects to improve the composite conductivity and restrain the volume variations during cycling processes, which collaboratively improve the discharge specific capacity and cycling performance. Crown