Hierarchical urchin-like Fe2O3 structures grown directly on Ti foils for binder-free lithium-ion batteries with fast charging/discharging properties

Hierarchical urchin-like Fe2O3 structures were grown on conductive Ti foil with robust adhesion via a facile two-step solvothermal method and subsequent annealing, and directly used as a binder-free lithium-ion battery anode Benefitting by the unique structural features, the resultant Fe2O3 hierarchical structures exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with remarkable specific capacities at a serious of current rates 1-5 A g(-1) and good cycling stability for excellently reversible lithium storage. The enhanced electrochemical performance demonstrates their promise for use as integrated binder-free electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. Using this additive/binder-free electrode, a discharge capacity as high as 581.2 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 5 A g(-1) was achieved after 1000 cycles. Importantly, the facile and effective strategy developed in this study can be extended to other metal oxides for various applications.