Ultrathin Ni Co -silicate nanosheets natively anchored on CNTs films for flexible lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Abstract The rapid development of portable and wearable electronics has called for novel flexible electrodes with superior performance. The development of flexible electrode materials with excellent mechanical and electrochemical properties has become one of the key factors for this goal. Here, a NixCoy-silicate@CNTs film is developed as a flexible anode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). On this film, NixCoy-silicate nanosheets are firmly and intimately anchored on the surface of CNTs, which have a 3D network structure and link the adjacent nanosheets together. Benefitted from this, the composite film is not only sufficient to withstand various deformations due to its excellent flexibility but also has excellent electrochemical properties, in terms of high reversible capacity of 1047 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 as well as a high rate and cycling performance (capacity retention up to 78.13% after 140 cycles). The pouch-type full flexible LIB using this material can stably operate under various bending conditions, showing the great potential of this 3D NixCoy-silicate@CNTs film for flexible energy storage devices with high durability.