Preparation of three‐dimensional nanoporous copper foil with high specific surface area

The porous copper foil material has the advantages of ultra‐light and ultra‐thin, and can prevent dangers such as thermal runaway and battery fire, which could be regarded as a prospective material for lithium battery cathodes. Here, a porous copper foil with a three‐dimensional (3D) pore structure was synthesized by alkali and acid etching. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurements showed that the porous copper foil had a specific surface area of 13.6026 m 2 ·g −1 , a pore volume of 0.02744 cm 2 ·g −1 and an average pore diameter of 7.4471 nm. The electrochemical behavior of copper–zinc alloys was further investigated using xylitol as a novel complexation system. The deposition process is mainly an irreversible reaction process under diffusion control and follows a 3D nucleation mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the copper–zinc alloy crystal nucleus becomes smaller and denser with the current increasing in a certain range. This work provides a new method for the porous copper foil which possesses economical and practical value.