One-Step Synthesis and High Electrochemical Performance of Porous Fe3O4/Carbon Nanocomposites as Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

In this report, the porous Fe3O4/C nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by using ferrocene as raw material and dilute nitric acid as solvent via extremely convenient and low-cost one-step calcining method. The formation of porous structure resulted from the aggregation and assembly of numerous nanoparticles. The experimental results show that the crystallinities, morphologies and electrochemical performance of samples were affected by the calcining temperature and carbon content. As an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the Fe3O4/C nanocomposites obtained at calcination temperature of 500∘C (Fe3O4/C-a500) exhibited remarkable initial specific discharge capacity of 1418[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]h g[Formula: see text] and a reversible capacity retention of 721[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]h[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text] after 100 cycles at the current density of 100[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text]. The excellent properties can be attributed to the high theoretical capacity of Fe3O4, the high conductivity of carbon and especially the porous structure, which offered more sites for the storage and insertion of Li ions. Even at the current density of 1000[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]h[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text], the reversible capacity of Fe3O4/C-a500 can be up to 291[Formula: see text]mA[Formula: see text]h[Formula: see text]g[Formula: see text], indicating the prepared typical nanocomposite presented excellent electrochemical performances and lithium storage capacity, which may be a promising candidate as the anode material for LIBs.