A team of scientists led by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)'s Song Hyun-joon have developed a nano-structured material using copper oxide (CuO), which could produce lithium-ion batteries with some 50 percent more capacity than conventional products. Graphite has been a popular material for cathodes in lithium-ion batteries. However, graphite cathodes are also blamed for lost capacity due to their consumption of lithium ions, which are linked to shorter battery life. As such, scientists have been looking for materials that could replace graphite in cathodes, and silicon and metal oxide haven been discussed as possible alternatives. Song is presenting copper oxide as the most recent candidate.

The KAIST team produced three copper oxide nanostructures in hexagon, ball and sea urchin shapes. When used as materials for cathodes, the lithium-ion batteries using the urchin-shaped nanostructures showed a full-discharge capacity of 560 milliampere-hours (mAh), compared to 372 mAh when using graphite cathodes.
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