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

Abstract In this report, Co 3 O 4 nanowires on nickel foam substrate are synthesized by a facile chemical bath deposition route under a mild condition. The prepared Co 3 O 4 is tightly anchored with Ni foam with a large BET surface area of 20.7 m 2 g −1 , providing good contact between electrode and electrolyte and thus improving the electron and Li + transmission. As a result, the fabricated Co 3 O 4 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.