Hierarchical Porous Nickel Cobaltate Nanoneedle Arrays as Flexible Carbon-Protected Cathodes for High-Performance Lithium-Oxygen Batteries

Rechargeable lithium-oxygen (Li-O₂) batteries are consequently considered to be an attractive energy storage technology because of the high theoretical energy densities. Here, an effective binder-free cathode with high capacity for Li-O₂ batteries, needle-like mesoporous NiCo₂O₄ nanowire arrays uniformly coated on the flexible carbon textile have been in situ fabricated via a facile hydrothermal process followed by low temperature calcination. Because of the material and structural features, the needle-like NiCo₂O₄ nanowire arrays (NCONWAs) served as a binder-free cathode exhibits high specific capacity (4221 mAh g^-1), excellent rate capability, and outstanding cycling stability (200 cycles). This cathode based on nonprecious mesoporous metal oxides nanowire arrays has large open spaces and high surface area, providing numerous catalytically active sites and effective transmission pathways for lithium ion and oxygen, and promises the abundant Li₂O₂ storage. The fast electron transport by directly anchoring on the substrate ensures fast electrochemical reaction process involved with the every nanowire. Furthermore, a bendable Li-O₂ battery assembled by using the flexible NCONWAs as the cathode, can be able to light an LED and shows good rate capability and cyclic stability.