Carbon-coated Fe3O4 nanocomposites anchored on Ti3C2 nanosheets for enhanced Li-storage

Abstract

Fe3O4 is a promising anode material for high-power rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) benefiting from its high reversible capacity, rich natural resources, and easy preparation. However, the rate capability and the cyclability of the Fe3O4 electrode are still unsatisfactory limited by its poor electronic conductivity and tremendous volume variation during Li+ insertion/desertion progress. To tackle these difficulties, carbon-coated Fe3O4 nanocomposites anchored on few-layered Ti3C2 nanosheets (Fe3O4 @C/Ti3C2) were prepared by a facile and scalable citric acid-assisted sol-gel process. As an anode material for LIBs, the Fe3O4 @C/Ti3C2 electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 1285 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and a high rate capacity of 405 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1. Moreover, the Fe3O4 @C/Ti3C2 electrode presents a steady cyclability for more than 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. The enhanced Li-ion storage performance of the Fe3O4 @C/Ti3C2 electrode could be attributed to the high electrical conductivity and the mechanical robustness of the Ti3C2 nanosheets.