Facile chemical bath deposition of Co3O4 nanowires on nickel foam directly as conductive agent- and binder-free anode for lithium ion batteries

In this report, Co3O4 nanowires on nickel foam substrate are synthesized by a facile chemical bath deposition route under a mild condition. The prepared Co3O4 is tightly anchored with Ni foam with a large BET surface area of 20.7 m2 g−1, providing good contact between electrode and electrolyte and thus improving the electron and Li+ transmission. As a result, the fabricated Co3O4 nanowires on nickel foam directly as conductive agent- and binder-free electrode for lithium ion batteries show superior electrochemical performance. When cycled at the current density of 0.2 A g−1, it delivers an initial reversible specific capacity of 944 mAh g−1 with a coulombic efficiency of 71.7%, and shows almost no capacity fading during 100 cycles. As performed at 4.0 A g−1, it can also show 663 mAh g−1 capacity.