Liquid gallium encapsulated in carbon nanofibers for high performance lithium storage

Freestanding membrane built from interwoven carbon fibers with encapsulated liquid gallium (Ga) nanodroplets has been demonstrated via the ultrasonic cell disrupting and electrospinning approaches along with a subsequent annealing process. Employing this membrane as a freestanding anode for lithium storage, the severe volume changes of Ga can be effectively accommodated due to the unique encapsulated 3D network structure. As a result, the membrane exhibits superior electrochemical performance, including high reversible capacity (450 mAh g⁻¹), enhanced cycling stability (247 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.65 A g⁻¹ over 250 cycles), as well as good rate performance (200 mAh g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹).