A continuous mesoporous iron oxide nanofilm was directly formed on graphene nanosheets through the in situ thermal decomposition of Fe(NO 3 ) 3 ?9H 2 O and was anchored tightly on the graphene surface. The lithiation-induced strain was naturally accommodated, owing to the constraint effect of graphene and the mesoporous structure. Hence, the pulverization of the iron oxide nanofilm was effectively prevented.3 Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: experimental details, XRD patterns, additional SEM and TEM images, SEM mapping, N 2 adsorptiondesorption analysis, FT-IR spectrum, XPS spectrum and additional electrochemical data. See

Graphene is an excellent substrate to load nanomaterials for energy applications due to its large surface area, excellent conductivity, mechanical strength, and chemical stability. In this study, thermal exfoliated functionalized graphene sheets with good conductivity and high BET surface area are anchored with mesoporous NiO nanoplates by in situ chemical synthesis approach. Electrochemical characterization shows that functionalized graphene sheets-NiO sample exhibits a high capacity of about 700 mAh/g at a discharge current density of 100 mA/g and a good cycling ability. The high capacity and good cycling ability of functionalized graphene sheets -NiO material were attributed to the intimate interaction between the graphene sheets and NiO nanoplates. The graphene sheets not only enhance the conductivity of NiO nanoplates but also improve the structure stability of NiO nanoplates. Furthermore, the mesoporous structure of NiO nanoplates is available to the transfer of electrolyte. Such functionalized graphene sheets-NiO nanocomposite could be a promising candidate material for a high-capacity, low cost, and nontoxic anode for lithium-ion batteries.

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