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Hollow and Yolk‐Shell Iron Oxide Nanostructures on Few‐Layer Graphene in Li‐Ion Batteries
Author(s) -
Sun Zhenyu,
Xie Kunpeng,
Li Zi An,
Sinev Ilja,
Ebbinghaus Petra,
Erbe Andreas,
Farle Michael,
Schuhmann Wolfgang,
Muhler Martin,
Ventosa Edgar
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201303723
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , raman spectroscopy , oxide , chemical engineering , scanning electron microscope , transmission electron microscopy , microstructure , nanostructure , electrode , composite number , carbon fibers , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , metallurgy , optics , physics , engineering
We report a simple and template‐free strategy for the synthesis of hollow and yolk‐shell iron oxide (FeO x ) nanostructures sandwiched between few‐layer graphene (FLG) sheets. The morphology and microstructure of this material are characterized in detail by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Its properties are evaluated as negative electrode material for Li‐ion batteries and compared with those of solid FeO x /FLG and two commercial iron oxides. In all cases, the content of carbon in the electrode has a great influence on the performance. The use of pristine FLG improves the capacity retention and further enhancement is achieved with the hollow structure. For a low carbon loading of 18 wt. %, the presence of metallic iron in the hollow and yolk‐shell FeO x /FLG composite significantly enhances the capacity retention, albeit with a relatively lower initial reversible capacity, retaining above 97 % after 120 cycles at 1000 mA g −1 in the voltage range of 0.1–3.0 V.