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, Cu₃ (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 LiNi_0.8 Co_0.1 Mn_0.1 O₂ 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.