Liquid-solid-solution assembly of morphology-controllable Fe2O3/graphene nanostructures as high-performance LIB anodes

Abstract

Fe2O3@rGO nanostructures with different Fe2O3 morphologies (nanoplates and nanoparticles) have been successfully fabricated by a simple and novel liquid-solid-solution (LSS) hydrothermal method. The Fe2O3@rGO composites with different morphologies and sizes were obtained at the oil/water interface by simply adjusting the concentration of Fe2+ ions and GO solution. Through the in situ solvothermal crystalization and growth process, Fe2O3 can be uniformly anchored on the crumpled graphene sheets without aggregation. When acting as lithium ion battery anodes, the Fe2O3@rGO composite can deliver a reversible capacity of 1207mAhg−1 at 0.2Ag−1 after 60 cycles, and a high rate capability of 548mAhg−1 even under a high current density of 12.8Ag−1 (corresponds to a charge time of ~150s). The high electrochemical performance indicates this synthesis technique may be a promising route to produce advanced anode materials for high-end lithium ion batteries.