Facile fabrication of three-dimensional porous ZnO thin films on Ni foams for lithium ion battery anodes

Abstract Three-dimensional (3D) porous ZnO thin films on nickel foam substrates have been synthesized via a facile strategy of electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) followed by annealing in Ar atmosphere for lithium-ion battery anodes. The ZnO films show 3D porous structure with a pore size in the range of 3.5–5 μm. When used as anode materials for lithium ion battery anodes, the obtained ZnO films on Ni foams exhibit good cycling stability and superior rate capability. The ZnO electrode on Ni foam delivers a reversible capacity of 402 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g −1 . It is demonstrated that the improved performance is attributed to the unique 3D porous ZnO structure on Ni foam, which provide more reaction sites and effective tolerance to the volume change during cycling.