Enhanced Electrochemical Lithium-Ion Charge Storage of Iron Oxide Nanosheets

Abstract

Iron oxides are appealing cathode materials for low-cost electrochemical energy storage, but iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit very low capacities, particularly at fast charging and discharging times, which are increasingly important for numerous applications. We report that synthesis and stabilization of iron oxide in nanosheets results in significantly improved lithium-ion charge storage capacities compared to those of iron oxide NPs at both slow and fast charging/discharging times. The iron oxide nanosheets have lateral dimensions of ∼50 nm and thicknesses of ∼1 nm and are composed of smaller crystallites. The structure of the nanosheets is consistent with maghemite, γ-Fe2O3, which contains cation defects. The γ-Fe2O3 phase is not typically observed within a nanosheet form, and γ-Fe2O3 nanosheets transform to NPs at a relatively low temperature of 200 °C. The transformation of γ-Fe2O3 from a nanosheet to an NP occurs in conjunction with removal of structural H2O. The γ-Fe2O3 nanosheets exhibited l...