Spatially Self‐Confined Formation of Ultrafine NiCoO2 Nanoparticles@Ultralong Amorphous N‐Doped Carbon Nanofibers as an Anode towards Efficient Capacitive Li+ Storage

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal 2019-01, Vol.25 (3), p.863-873
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhengluo, Zhao, Zhiwei, Zhang, Yanru, Yang, Xiaopeng, Sun, Xuan, Zhang, Jinyang, Hou, Linrui, Yuan, Changzhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anodes; Batteries; Carbon; Carbon fibers; Chemistry; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; mesoporous materials; Nanofibers; Nanoparticles; nanostructures; Quantitative analysis; Storage; Ultrafines
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.201804823

The exploration of anode materials with a high degree of electrochemical utilization for Li‐ion batteries (LIBs) still remains a huge challenge despite pioneering breakthroughs. Rational engineering of electrode structures/components by facile strategies would offer infinite possibilities for the development of LIBs. In this study, one‐dimensional ultralong nanohybrids of ultrafine NiCoO2 nanoparticles dispersed in situ in and/or on the surface of amorphous N‐doped carbon nanofibers (NCO@ANCNFs) were fabricated by a bottom‐up electrospinning protocol. By virtue of synergistic structural/component features, the obtained ultralong NCO@ANCNFs with low NCO loading (≈33.6 wt %) show highly efficient Li+ storage performance with high reversible capacity, high rate capability, and long cycle life. The unusual reversible crystalline transformation during cycling was analyzed. Quantitative analysis revealed that the pseudocapacitive contribution mainly accounts for the superior lithium storage of the NCO@ANCNFs. Besides, the ability of the hybrid anode to deliver competitive Li‐storage properties even without conductive carbon greatly enhances its commercial applicability. An NCO@ANCNFs//LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 full battery was assembled and exhibited striking electrochemical properties. This contribution offers a scalable methodology to fabricate highly efficient hybrid anodes for advanced next‐generation LIBs. Nanohybrid anodes: Ultralong 1D nanohybrids in which ultrafine NiCoO2 nanoparticles are dispersed in and/or on the surface of amorphous N‐doped carbon nanofibers were fabricated, and they exhibited a high electrochemical degree of utilization for lithium storage as anodes for advanced lithium‐ion batteries (see figure).