Electrochemical properties of alpha-Fe2O3/MWCNTs as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

alpha-Fe2O3/MWCNTs composites were prepared by a simple hydrothermal process. The crystalline structure and the electrochemical performance of the as-synthesized samples were investigated. Results show that as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the alpha-Fe2O3/MWCNTs exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 1256 +/- 5 mAh g(-1) a stable specific discharge capacity of 430 +/- 5 mAh g(-1) at ambient temperature, for up to 100 cycles with no noticeable capacity fading, while the initial discharge capacity of the bare Fe2O3 is 992.3 mAh g(-1), and the discharge capacity is 146.6 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles. Moreover, the alpha-Fe2O3/MWCNTs composites also exhibit excellent rate performance. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.