Regenerated Graphite-Derived Cellular-Inspired Polydopamine@NiO@Graphite toward Robust Lithium Storage

Abstract

Although transition metal-based anodes for batteries are preferred owing to their higher energy density, the potential for structural collapse due to volume expansion has hindered their development. Herein, a simulated cellular structured anode composed of uniform nanoparticles and wrapped polydopamine is designed to direct the electronic/ionic diffusion channel and effectively address the volume expansion problem. The controlled-release effects of the polymer between the nano-interface protect the three-dimensional (3D) structures from collapsing during the electrochemical process. The constructed conductive networks along the NiO nanoparticle configurations effectively induce the transfer path and further accelerate the diffusion rate. Furthermore, interstitial filling unlocks the inactive component and triggers the deep delivery of electrons, which boosts battery performance. Therefore, the 3D structured PDA@NiO@G anode prepared from a recycled graphite conductive substrate exhibits excellent specific capacity (500 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1) and significantly improved long-cycle performance (402 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 A g-1). The structure modulation strategy provides meaningful insight into transition metal anodes for the fabrication of high kinetics and prolonged life lithium-ion batteries, as well as the reuse of the spent graphite anode.