In Situ Study of Thermal Stability of Copper Oxide Nanowires at Anaerobic Environment

Many metal oxides with promising electrochemical properties were developed recently. Before those metal oxides realize the use as an anode in lithium ion batteries, their thermal stability at anaerobic environment inside batteries should be clearly understood for safety. In this study, copper oxide nanowires were investigated as an example. Several kinds of in situ experiment methods including in situ optical microscopy, in situ Raman spectrum, and in situ transmission electron microscopy were adopted to fully investigate their thermal stability at anaerobic environment. Copper oxide nanowires begin to transform as copper(I) oxide at about 250 degrees C and finish at about 400 degrees C. The phase transformation proceeds with a homogeneous nucleation.