Improved Performance in Lithium Ion Battery of CNT-Fe3O4@Graphene Induced by Three-Dimensional Structured Construction

Abstract Because of the low cost and environmental friendliness, iron oxide is widely applied in various application fields. Iron oxide is also considered as a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries, but it usually exhibits poor electrochemical properties because of its poor conductivity and large volume variation during the lithium uptake and release. To address this issue, a three-dimensional (3D) structure was developed, in which Fe3O4 nanorods were selectively supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and subsequently coated by graphene (CNTs-Fe3O4@graphene). Due to the strong interaction within graphene, CNT and Fe3O4 nanorod as well as high conductivity of CNT, the resulting CNTs-Fe3O4@graphene nanocomposites exhibited enhanced cycling performance and rate capability in comparison with Fe3O4@graphene composite, especially improved reversible capacity in the first cycle. The present investigation provides insights into the design of nanostructures for lithium-ion batteries.