Coral-Like NiFe 2 O 4 /C Composite as the High-Performance Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this work, we fabricated NiFe2O4/C composite with a coral-like structure through co-precipitation approach followed by thermal decomposition. The composite with a large surface area of 162.1 m2 g−1 and an average pore size of 11.8 nm was obtained. The porous structure in the composite derived from oxalate can effectively accommodate the volume changes of NiFe2O4 during the cycling processes. When used as anode materials, the initial charge and discharge capacities of the composite were 926.7 and 1277.7 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1. After 50 cycles, the reversible capacity of NiFe2O4/C could still remain at 892.4 mAh g−1. Even at a current density of 2000 mA g−1, the reversible capacity still reached 523.3 mAh g−1. The results showed that the synergy between NiFe2O4 and carbon improved the electrochemical performance, and the porous composite could stabilize the structure of the electrode.