Abstract
Recycling Zn and Fe from jarosite residue to produce high value-added products is of great importance to the healthy and sustainable development of zinc industry. In this work, we reported the preparation of ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites from the leaching liquor of jarosite residue by a facile chemical coprecipitation method followed by heat treatment at 800°C in air. The microstructure of the as-prepared ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS). The results demonstrated that the ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 composites are composed of interconnected ZnFe2O4 and α-Fe2O3 nanocrystals with sizes in the range of 20–40 nm. When evaluated as anode material for Li-ion batteries, the ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites exhibits high lithium storage activity, superior cyclic stability, and good high rate capability. Cyclic voltammetry analysis reveals that surface pseudocapacitive lithium storage has a significant contribution to the total stored charge of the ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3, which accounts for the enhanced lithium storage performance during cycling. The synthesis of ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites from the leaching liquor of jarosite residue and its successful application in lithium-ion batteries open up new avenues in the fields of healthy and sustainable development of industries.
Highlights
As one of the most promising energy storage systems, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely applied in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and smart grids (Dunn et al, 2011; Scrosati et al, 2011; Larcher and Tarascon, 2014)
The superior lithium storage performance of the ZnFe2O4/αFe2O3 nanocomposites can be ascribed to following several aspects: (1) the primary nanocrystals facilitate the transport of both Li+ and electrons because of the short diffusion distance, which enhances the kinetic performance; (2) the numerous void spaces among the interconnected primary nanoparticles and among the nanoparticles can accommodate the strain induced by the volume change during discharge/charge cycles, and improve the cycling performance; (3) the unique ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 heterojunctions provides an enhanced inner electric field at the interface between ZnFe2O4 and α-Fe2O3 nanocrystals, which may efficiently accelerate the charge-transfer kinetics during electrochemical reactions and boost the rate capability; (4) the significant pseudocapacitive behavior during discharge/charge process is an important reason for the outstanding high rate capability and long-term cycling stability
Hybrid ZnFe2O4/α-Fe2O3 nanocomposites have been successfully fabricated with the leaching liquor of jarosite residue as raw material by a facile chemical coprecipitation method followed by heat treatment in air
Summary
As one of the most promising energy storage systems, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely applied in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and smart grids (Dunn et al, 2011; Scrosati et al, 2011; Larcher and Tarascon, 2014).
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