Longan-Derived Biomass Carbon-Induced Cubic-Type Ferric Oxide Nanoparticles for Efficient Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the most preferred alternatives to fossil fuels as energy providers, but further improvement of the overall performance is still desired to satisfy social requirements. In this work, ferric oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in biomass longan pulp-derived carbon are simply configurated, in which the longan pulp plays three main functions: (i) To ensure a nanorod-like structure when interacting with Fe 3+ ; (ii) to construct a cubic phase of Fe 2 O 3 by tuning the proper content of longan pulp; and (iii) to ensure good dispersion of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles. As electrodes for LIBs, the novel composite shows a high initial discharge capacity of 1483.6 mAh g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 and maintains a capacity value of 626.6 mAh g −1 even at 1.0 A g −1 over 1000 cycles, which benefits from the synergistic effect between carbon nanorods and Fe 2 O 3 . The highly dispersed γ-phase cubic Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles anchoring on the carbon substrate can increase the contact between the electrolyte and active materials; meanwhile, the longan-derived carbon substrate can compensate for the unfavorable electrical conductivity of Fe 2 O 3 and buffer the volume expansion in the cycling process. This study provides an effective technique to utilize extensive natural resources and simple synthesis procedures for the preparation of novel hybrid anode materials.

Nanocrystalline Cellulose-Supported Iron Oxide Composite Materials for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…In Figure 4 b, the Fe 2p spectrum shows the two highest peaks at 711.48 and 724.96 eV, corresponding to Fe 2p 3/2 and Fe 2p 1/2 , respectively, which further verify the presence of the Fe 2 O 3 phase. A broad peak at 719.16 eV between Fe 2p 3/2 and Fe 2p 1/2 can be ascribed to the satellite peak of Fe 3+ in Fe 2 O 3 , which is consistent with previous reports [ 11 , 20 , 49 ]. Figure 4 c shows the detailed XPS spectrum of O 1s, which exhibits three peaks located at 530.25, 532.22, and 533.49 eV, demonstrating the Fe-O-C, Fe-O, and C-OH/C-O-C bonds to confirm the connection of Fe 2 O 3 with NCC [ 10 , 20 ].…”

“…A broad peak at 719.16 eV between Fe 2p 3/2 and Fe 2p 1/2 can be ascribed to the satellite peak of Fe 3+ in Fe 2 O 3 , which is consistent with previous reports [ 11 , 20 , 49 ]. Figure 4 c shows the detailed XPS spectrum of O 1s, which exhibits three peaks located at 530.25, 532.22, and 533.49 eV, demonstrating the Fe-O-C, Fe-O, and C-OH/C-O-C bonds to confirm the connection of Fe 2 O 3 with NCC [ 10 , 20 ]. The peak positions of three parts divided in the C 1s XPS spectrum ( Figure 4 d) are 284.94, 286.23, and 288.98, corresponding to C-C/C=C, C-O, and C=O bonds, respectively, regarding the C atoms around the NCC [ 29 ].…”

“…Moreover, the NCC–Fe 2 O 3 composite discharge capacity can recover to a high value of 556.07 mAh g −1 when the current density returns to 0.1 A g −1 and shows an upward trend of specific capacity for the next 15 cycles, confirming both the excellent rate performance as well as structural stability of the NCC–Fe 2 O 3 composite. The favorable rate performance of the NCC–Fe 2 O 3 composite can be allocated to the composite’s porous structure and the effective influence and supporting role of NCC [ 20 ]. The integration of nanosized Fe 2 O 3 particles into the NCC with the porous large surface structure effectively enhances the lithium storage performance of the NCC–Fe 2 O 3 composite, which emphasizes the synergistic effect of carbonaceous material and nanosized Fe 2 O 3 particles.…”

“…The CV curve for the initial cycle displays a dominant and sharp peak around 0.72 V, which is assigned to the reduction reaction of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ to Fe 0 and the formation of the SEI layer at the electrolyte/electrode interface, which is a common phenomenon in transition metal oxides electrodes. A minor peak around 1.7 V is presented for the transformation of Fe 2 O 3 to the Li x Fe 2 O 3 phase [ 20 , 30 , 54 ]. During the first anodic scan, a broad peak was observed at about 1.75 V, corresponding to the reversible oxidation of Fe 0 to Fe 2+ which is further oxidized to Fe 3+ (Li 2 Fe 2 O 3 + 4Li + + 4e − ⬄ 2Fe 0 + 3Li 2 O) [ 20 , 30 , 55 , 56 ].…”

“…Incorporating nanosized Fe 2 O 3 particles with carbon-based materials could couple the advantages of both nano entities, which improve the contact between electrode and electrolyte, and conductive carbonaceous materials, which alleviate the volume change and nanosized particle aggregation [ 3 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Furthermore, including a composite of iron oxide particles into carbonaceous materials could be easily carried out through thermal annealing of organic matter and inorganic compounds [ 3 , 9 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”