Bottom‐Up Fabrication of 1D Cu‐based Conductive Metal–Organic Framework Nanowires as a High‐Rate Anode towards Efficient Lithium Storage

Conductive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), as a newly emerging multifunctional material, hold enormous promise in electrochemical energy‐storage systems owing to their merits including good electronic conductivity, large surface area, appropriate pore structure, and environmental friendliness. In this contribution, a scalable solvothermal strategy was devised for the bottom‐up fabrication of 1D Cu‐based conductive MOF, that is, Cu3(2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 (Cu‐CAT) nanowires (NWs), which were further utilized as a competitive anode for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). The intrinsic Li storage mechanism of the Cu‐CAT electrode was also explored. Benefiting from its structural virtues, the resultant 1D Cu‐CAT NWs were endowed with superb Li+ diffusion coefficients and electrochemical conductivities and exhibited remarkably high‐rate reversible capacities of approximately 631 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and even approximately 381 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1, along with striking capacity retention of 81 % after 500 cycles at 0.5 A g−1. In addition, a Cu‐CAT NWs‐based full cell assembled with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 as the cathode displayed a large energy density of approximately 275 Wh kg−1 as well as excellent cycling behavior. These results manifest the promising application of 1D conductive Cu‐CAT NWs in advanced LIBs and even other potential versatile energy‐related fields. Conductive MOF nanowires: 1D conductive Cu3(2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 (Cu‐CAT) nanowires exhibit large reversible capacities along with long‐span cyclic stability for advanced Li‐ion batteries as a superb high‐rate anode, and the involved Li storage mechanism of the unique Cu‐CAT anode is proposed.