Indium Nitride Nanowires: Low Redox Potential Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Advanced lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are crucial to portable devices and electric vehicles. However, it is still challenging to further develop the current anodic materials such as graphite due to the intrinsic limited capacity and sluggish Li-ion diffusion. Indium nitride (InN), which is a new type of anodic material with low redox potential (<0.7 V vs Li/Li⁺) and narrow bandgap (0.69 eV), may serve as a new high-energy density anode material for LIBs. Here, the growth of 1D single crystalline InN nanowires is reported on Au-decorated carbon fibers (InN/Au-CFs) via chemical vapor deposition, possessing a high aspect ratio of 400. The binder-free Au-CFs with high conductivity can provide abundant sites and enhance binding force for the dense growth of InN nanowires, displaying shortened Li ion diffusion paths, high structural stability, and fast Li⁺ kinetics. The InN/Au-CFs can offer stable and high-rate Li delithiation/lithiation without Li deposition, and achieve a remarkable capacity of 632.5 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 A g^-1 after 450 cycles and 416 mAh g^-1 at a high rate of 30 A g^-1. The InN nanowires as battery anodes shall hold substantial promise for fulfilling superior long-term cycling performance and high-rate capability for advanced LIBs.