Fe-added Fe3C carbon nanofibers as anode for Li ion batteries with excellent low-temperature performance

The poor conductivity of anodic carbon materials at low temperature hampers their high-level applications in Li ion batteries (LIBs). Introducing some reliable metals with good electrical conductivity into anodes could alleviate these problems. In this work, the novel composites of Fe-added Fe3C carbon nanofibers (Fe/Fe3C-CNFs) were synthesized via facile electrospinning method and used as anode materials for LIBs. The resulting anodes with Fe/Fe3C-CNF materials exhibited a high reversible capacity of 500 mAhg(-1) tested at 200 mAg(-1) even after 70 cycles and excellent performance at room temperature. Importantly, it delivered a high capacity of 250 mAhg(-1) at 400 mAhg(-1) even after 55 cycles at a low temperature of -15 degrees C. The superior low-temperature electrochemical performance of the Fe/Fe3C-CNF anodes is associated with an improved effect of the highly conducting Fe at low temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.