MOF-derived α-Fe2O3@Fe3O4 on carbon fiber fabric for lithium-ion anode applications

Abstract

Owing to the current development in emerging fields as electric motoring, biomedical sensors or new generation of mobile phones, new functionalities are required for the new generation of Li-ion batteries as flexibility or structurality. Thus, Metal-Organic Framework (MOF)-derived α-Fe2O3@Fe3O4 coating on carbon fiber fabric has been developed in this study for Lithium-ion battery anode purposes. MOF-derived synthesis is a well-known strategy to obtain Transition Metal Oxides (TMOs) which better electrochemical performance than bare TMOs. On the other hand, synthesis on carbon fiber fabric allows to develop new electrodes for multifunctional energy storage devices in which the coating provides high specific capacity, while the carbon fiber substrate provides stiffness but high flexibility, mechanical strength, and electrical conductivity. This TMO coating was achieved by a novel MOF MIL-100 direct synthesis on carbon fiber and subsequent calcination, the effects of calcination on the composition, texture and morphology of the coating, as well as its electrochemical performance, were studied. As the best result, calcinated samples during 2 h showed the optimal synergic effects between the coating and carbon fiber, exhibiting a specific capacity of 328.6 mAh/g at 25 mA/g, an excellent rate capability and a capacity retention of 89.7 % after 100 galvanostatic charge-discharge cycles. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the novelty of this work is not only based on the electrochemical performance but also on the novel synthesis of MIL-100 directly over the carbon fibers. This novel synthesis opens the way to new variety of TMO coatings for electrodes of all-solid-state energy storage devices.