Hybrid Nanostructured Ni(OH)2/NiO for High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Abstract

A straightforward hydrothermal process followed by a controlled calcination technique is proposed for the synthesis of a Ni(OH)2 modified NiO nanohybrid structure. Conversion materials such as Li-ion battery anodes, NiO in this case, suffer from capacity fade and structural/morphological instability during lithiation and delithiation. The novelty of this work is in utilizing this hybrid configuration to increase the specific capacity and enable reversible electrochemistry. In the present work, we study the lithiation/delithiation process of NiO using a suite of spectroscopy and microscopy techniques from the atomic to electrode scale. We propose a mechanism for a reversible redox couple behavior of the NiO electrode by means of a hybrid Ni(OH)2/NiO structure. The ultimate objective of this work is to guide the development of anode with rationally designed heterogeneity to create high-capacity Li-ion batteries with excellent cycling and rate performance.