Metal Oxide–Reduced Graphene Oxide (MO–RGO) Nanocomposites as High-Performance Anode Materials in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have high energy density, low self-discharge, and no memory effect and are considered as dominant power source that has the potential to meet the necessary current/future requirements. Graphite is the commercially used negative electrode (anode) in almost all LIBs due to its remarkable cyclic stability, low self-discharge, safety in operation, and wide availability, but the limited theoretical capacity and low rate obstruct its further industrial applications. Metal oxides, in general, suffer from low electrical conductivity and severe volume expansion during charge–discharge cycles, which is the major cause for deterioration of the electrochemical performance in LIBs. Iron-based simple and complex oxides have attracted a lot of attention in the LIB community because of high theoretical capacity and better electrical conductivity of Fe2O3 over other metal oxides, but poor stability, rapid capacity fading due to volume expansion, and rate capability are the major challenges to overcome.