CuO Nanoflowers/copper Fiber Felt Integrated Porous Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The structure of current collectors has significant effects on the performance of a lithium-ion battery (LIB). In this study, we use copper fiber felts made by multi-tooth cutting and high-temperature solid-phase sintering as the current collector for LIBs. An integrated porous electrode based on CuO nanoflowers/copper fiber felt is developed for the anode. Results suggest that the reversible capacity and cycle stability of this new anode are significantly improved, compared with the pristine bare-surface copper plate under the same condition of rate cycles. The new anode structure based on the copper-fiber felt with a porosity of 60% exhibits a higher performance with an initial specific capacity of 609.5 mAh g−1 and retains 486.1 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.5 C. The improved electrochemical performance of this electrode is attributed to its large surface area of CuO nanoflowers and porous structure of the copper fiber felt, due to enhanced contact between the active material of CuO nanoflowers and electrolyte. This pore-rich structure makes the electrolyte easy to permeate into the electrode, shortens the diffusion path of Li+, reduces the internal resistance and alleviates the volume expansion of the active material during the insertion and desertion processes of Li+.