A nickel based micro-structured material and methods are shown. In one example, the nickel based micro-structured material is used as an electrode in a battery, such as a lithium ion battery. One specific example shown includes NiO-decorated Ni nanowires with diameters around 30-150 nm derived from Ni wire backbone (around 2 μm in diameter). In one specific example, The NiO nanowire foam can be manufactured with bio-friendly chemicals and low temperature processes without an templates, binders and conductive additives, which possesses the potential transferring from lab scale to industrial production.