Rational design of self-sacrificial template derived quasi-Cu-MOF composite as anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

MOF-based composites have aroused widespread concern due to their controllable morphology and pore characteristics. Nevertheless, the poor conductivity and volume expansion hinder its practical application in LIBs. Herein a classical structure HKUST-1, as the precursor, was used to fabricate quasi-Cu-MOF composite through a facile thermal decomposition strategy. The results showed that quasi-Cu-MOF composite had superior reversible specific capacity (627.5 mAh/g at 100 mA/g) and outstanding cycle stability (509.4 mAh/g at 500 mA/g after 400 cycles) as anodes for LIBs. The results demonstrated that the low-temperature calcination strategy played a significant role in morphology retaining during cycling and the derived copper framework play a crucial part in conductivity improvement. This work is helpful to the design of high-performance electrodes with advanced three-dimensional hierarchical structures.