Designed lamination of binder-free flexible iron oxide/carbon cloth as high capacity and stable anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Free-standing binder-free electrodes have attracted significant attention towards high-performance lithium (Li)-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, the Fe2O3 nanostructures with various morphologies were prepared by a simple one-step solvothermal method. The as-prepared nanostructured Fe2O3 was successfully grown on carbon cloth (CC) to form the flexible three-dimensional (3D) networked Fe2O3/CC composites via the same in-situ solvothermal method. The flexible 3D networked Fe2O3/CC composites could be directly used as an additive-free anode material for LIBs, which exhibited remarkable Li storage properties including high reversibility, excellent cycling stability, and high rate performance. The 3D networked Fe2O3/CC electrode promotes the permeation of electrolyte, shortens the Li-ion diffusion length, and provides a cushion for the volume expansion/contraction during Li-ion insertion/extraction process. Specifically, 3D networked Fe2O3@180-CC2 composite electrode delivered a high discharge capacity of 1350 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 over 100 cycles, showing the outstanding cycle life with a reversible capacity of 530 mAh g−1 at a 3 A g−1 over 700 cycles. Whereas, the pristine Fe2O3@180 electrode (prepared in a conventional way) delivered a discharge capacity of 758 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 over 100 cycles, which is relatively lower than the binder-free Fe2O3@180-CC2 electrode. The obtained excellent electrochemical results suggest that the 3D networked Fe2O3/CC composite electrode is a promising anode material for high-performance LIBs.