Template Free and Binderless NiO Nanowire Foam for Li-ion Battery Anodes with Long Cycle Life and Ultrahigh Rate Capability

Herein, NiO-decorated Ni nanowires with diameters ca. 30–150 nm derived from Ni wire backbone (ca. 2 μm in diameter) is directly synthesized on commercially available Ni foam as a renovated anode for Li-ion batteries. Excellent stability with capacity 680 mAh g(−1) at 0.5C (1C = 718 mA g(−1)) is achieved after 1000 cycles. Superior rate capability is exhibited by cycling at extremely high current rates, such as 20C and 50C with capacities ca. 164 and 75 mAh g(−1), respectively. The capacity can be recovered back to ca. 430 mAh g(−1) in 2 cycles when lowered to 0.2C and stably cycled for 430 times with capacity 460 mAh g(−1). The NiO nanowire foam anode possesses low equivalent series resistance ca. 3.5 Ω, resulting in superior power performance and low resistive losses. The NiO nanowire foam can be manufactured with bio-friendly chemicals and low temperature processes without any templates, binders and conductive additives, which possesses the potential transferring from lab scale to industrial production.