Macroporous Cu(OH)(2) nanorod network fabricated directly on Cu foil as binder-free Lithium-ion battery anode with ultrahigh capacity

Abstract

Metal-hydroxide based materials have attracted much attention as electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion owing to their unique large interlayer spacing, enhanced active surface area and robustness that can result in high electrochemical performance. Here, we report on the synthesis of a macroporous Cu(OH)(2) nanorod network via single-step surface chemical oxidation and demonstrate its impressive Li ion battery (LIB) performance as a binder-free anode material. The Cu(OH)(2) nanorod network anode delivers an ultrahigh reversible discharge capacity of 2145 mAhg(-1) at a current density of 0.1 Ag-1 in the first cycle that then stabilizes at 1472 mAhg(-1) in the subsequent cycles. The excellent rate performance at the ultrahigh current rates of 1.0 and 2.0 Ag-1 with a Coulombic efficiency of 99% was obtained. The electrode exhibits the capacity of 506 mAhg(-1) even after 100 cycles which is higher than the conventional carbonaceous materials. Our experimental findings and scalable synthesis approach can be useful for developing other free-standing binder-free transition metal hydroxide materials that can be directly used as battery electrodes and catalysts. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.