Prepartion and electrochemical performance of a cerium oxide-graphene nanocomposite as the anode material of a lithium ion battery

A nanocomposite of CeO(2) graphene was prepared by a simple hydrothermal method and its electrochemical properties were investigated as a possible anode material for lithium ion batteries. Morphological characterization revealed that quasi-spherical CeO(2) particles with a size of similar to 100 nm were dispersed randomly on the graphene matrix. The nanocomposite shows a greater capacity for reversal and a better performance rate than a bare CeO(2) electrode. The better electrochemical performance could be attributed to the unique structure of the nanocomposite, which combines the conductive graphene network with dispersed CeO(2) particles. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.