Copper nanowires based current collector for light-weight and flexible composite silicon anode with high stability and specific capacity

A metal network fabricated by copper nanowires (CuNWs), synthesized in a facile way, is introduced to silicon composite anode as current collector for lithium-ion battery. The light and flexible sheet can act as the collector and the substrate, and improve the kinetic electron transport and the stability of composite anode. In this configuration, the composite anode exhibits a better capacity retention of 89.4% and a coulombic efficiency of ∼93% after 60 cycles (rate = 0.2C) compared to conventional composite thin film anode in which CuNWs are beneficial for electrochemical performances. There appears to be a promising improvement that the light-weighted anode can also be applied to meet the commercial requirement.