Centrifugally Spun α-Fe2O3/TiO2/Carbon Composite Fibers as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 9; no. 19; p. 4032
• Main Authors: Zuniga, Luis, Gonzalez, Gabriel, Orrostieta Chavez, Roberto, Myers, Jason C., Lodge, Timothy P., Alcoutlabi, Mataz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2019
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acids; anode; Anode effect; Anodes; Carbon; centrifugal spinning; Collectors; Composite materials; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Electron microscopy; Ethanol; Ferric oxide; Fibers; Graphene; Graphite; Lithium; lithium ion battery; Lithium-ion batteries; Metal oxides; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Oxidation; Photoelectron spectroscopy; Photoelectrons; Polymers; Scanning electron microscopy; Specific capacity; Thermogravimetric analysis; tio2; Titanium; Titanium dioxide; Transmission electron microscopy; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; X-ray spectroscopy; α-fe2o3; United States > US
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app9194032

We report results on the electrochemical performance of flexible and binder-free α-Fe2O3/TiO2/carbon composite fiber anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The composite fibers were produced via centrifugal spinning and subsequent thermal processing. The fibers were prepared from a precursor solution containing PVP/iron (III) acetylacetonate/titanium (IV) butoxide/ethanol/acetic acid followed by oxidation at 200 °C in air and then carbonization at 550 °C under flowing argon. The morphology and structure of the composite fibers were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). These ternary composite fiber anodes showed an improved electrochemical performance compared to the pristine TiO2/C and α-Fe2O3/C composite fiber electrodes. The α-Fe2O3/TiO2/C composite fibers also showed a superior cycling performance with a specific capacity of 340 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1, compared to 61 mAh g−1 and 121 mAh g−1 for TiO2/C and α-Fe2O3/C composite electrodes, respectively. The improved electrochemical performance and the simple processing of these metal oxide/carbon composite fibers make them promising candidates for the next generation and cost-effective flexible binder-free anodes for LIBs.