In-situ carbon coated CuCo <inf>2</inf> S <inf>4</inf> anode material for Li-ion battery applications

In-situ carbon coated carrollite spinel CuCo 2 S 4 nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple low temperature hydrothermal route and studied as anode for lithium battery applications. The electrochemical reaction with lithium involves initial insertion of 3Li/f.u into the lattice upto 1.5 V followed by conversion reaction upto 0.01 V. A reversible capacity of 180 mAh g −1 was obtained for CuCo 2 S 4 after 30 cycles at C/5 rate (137 mA g −1 ). However, in-situ carbon coated CuCo 2 S 4 shows significantly higher capacity of 375 mAh g −1 even after 30 cycles.