High rate capability and long cycle stability Fe3O4-graphene nanocomposite as anode material for lithium ion batteries

We developed one-spot in situ synthesis method to form nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets with Fe3O4 nanoparticles for lithium ion battery applications. A transmission electron microscopy image has shown that the as-formed Fe3O4 nanoparticles are about 10 nm in average size, and uniformly anchor on RGO sheets as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separated. The Fe3O4-RGO nanocomposite exhibits improved rate capability of 436 mA h g(-1) at 2400 mA g(-1). It delivers a high capacity of 1188 mA h g(-1) at 100 mA g(-1) after 1000 cycles of charge and discharge at various rates from 100 to 6000 mA g(-1), indicating outstanding cycle stability. The improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the important interfacial interaction between small-sized Fe3O4 nanoparticles and ultrathin RGO nanosheets, and suggests that Fe3O4-RGO nanocomposite with superior performance will be a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.