Electrospinning synthesis of 3D porous NiO nanorods as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Three-dimensional NiO nanorods were synthesized as anode material by electrospinning method. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the product sintered at 400 °C had impure metallic nickel phase which, however, became pure NiO phase as the sintering temperature rose. Nevertheless, the nanorods sintered at 400, 500 and 600 °C had similar diameters (∼200 nm).The NiO nanorod material sintered at 500 °C was chip-shaped with a diameter of 200 nm and it exhibited a porous 3D structure. The nanorod sintered at 500 °C had the optimal electrochemical performance. Its discharge specific capacity was 1127 mAh·g⁻¹ initially and remained as high as 400 mAh·g⁻¹ at a current density of 55 mA·g⁻¹ after 50 cycles.