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, Cu-3(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.