Wrinkled Carbon-Coated NiCo2O4 Nanoclusters Constructed by Self-Encapsulation of Cellulose Nanonetwork for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Here, we demonstrate the self-encapsulation approach by using a cellulose nanonetwork as an envelope to design and synthesize wrinkled carbon-coated NiCo2O4 nanoclusters as an advanced anode for lithium-ion batteries. Based on the self-encapsulation of the cellulose nanonetworks, the NiCo2O4 nanosheets are packaged in the wrinkled and porous carbon shell and then transform into plenty of NiCo2O4 nanocrystals. This smart design can provide more active sites, accelerate the electron transport and Li-ion diffusion, and buffer the volume change of active materials upon cycling. Benefiting from the features mentioned above, the wrinkled carbon-coated NiCo2O4 anode manifests an excellent electrochemical performance, showing a high reversible capacity of 1103 mAh g–1 at 100 mA g–1, extraordinary rate performance of 839 mAh g–1 at 1 000 mA g–1, and no-loss cycling performance after 500 cycles.