Nickel foam-supported porous NiO∕Ag film electrode for lithium-Ion batteries

Porous NiO film was deposited on a nickel foam substrate by a chemical bath deposition technique at room temperature, and the NiO/Ag film was prepared by loading the NiO film with Ag nanoparticles. The NiO/Ag film with a thickness of about 1 μm is constructed by NiO nanoflakes, in which the Ag nanoparticles with sizes of about 5 nm are highly dispersed. As an anode for lithium-ion batteries, its initial coulombic efficiency is as high as 70%. The discharge-charge curve and cyclic voltammograms show that the NiO/Ag film electrode exhibits smaller potential hysteresis and weaker polarization as compared to the NiO film electrode. The specific capacity after 50 cycles for the NiO/Ag film is 550 mAh g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1, 450 mAh g^-1 at 1.5 A g^-1, and 420 mAh g^-1 at 3 A g^-1, higher than that of NiO (490 mAh g^-1 at 0.5 A g^-1, 350 mAh g^-1 at 1.5 A g^-1, and 300 mAh g^-1 at 3 A g^-1). The improvement of these electrochemical properties is attributed to the Ag nanoparticles, which enhanced the electrical conduction of the electrode.