In this manuscript a novel approach to enable aqueous binders for lithium ion battery (LIB) cathodes is reported. Producing LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC) electrodes using sodium-carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as a binder and water as a solvent, in fact, results in serious aluminum corrosion during electrode manufacturing due to the high pH of the slurry. In order to prevent the direct contact of the corrosive slurry with aluminum foil, the latter is first coated with a thin carbon layer. The CMC-based electrodes formed on carbon coated aluminum foil show enhanced performance than those made using unprotected aluminum instead. In particular, electrodes using protected aluminum foil are able to deliver a capacity of 126 mAh g(-1) at 1C rate, which is rather close to that delivered by polyvinylidene-di-fluoride (PVdF)-based electrode having the same composition. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.