A facile route to achieve ultrafine Fe2O3 nanorods anchored on graphene oxide for application in lithium-ion battery

Abstract Ultrafine Fe 2 O 3 nanorods anchored on graphene oxide (GO) are synthesized by a one-pot route under mild conditions in presence of KMnO 4 and Ni foam. Ni foam is beneficial for the formation of Fe 2 O 3 rather than FeOOH under otherwise the same conditions, while KMnO 4 accelerates the hydrolysis of FeCl 3 , which promotes the nucleation of Fe 2 O 3 and the achievement of uniform ultra-small morphology thereby. As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the Fe 2 O 3 /GO manifests a reversible capacity of 1004 mA h g −1 after 500 cycles at 200 mA g −1 , and even presents a high reversible capacity of 722 mA h g −1 at 1600 mA g −1 . The excellent electrochemical properties of Fe 2 O 3 /GO are attributed to the ultrafine nanorods of Fe 2 O 3 and the strong interaction between Fe 2 O 3 and GO, which can reduce the diffusion distance of Li + ions, enlarge the electrode/electrolyte contact area and improve the cyclic stability of iron oxide.