High performance isomeric Fe2O3 nanospheres anode materials derived from industrial wastewater for lithium ion batteries

Abstract A simple strategy which combines the treatment of industrial wastewater with the preparation of electrode materials was proposed in this work. And the industrial wastewater is the only iron source for the material preparation. The preparation method in this work is facile, economical and environment-friendly which includes two simple steps of low-temperature aqueous solution and one-step calcination. Moreover two kinds of high performance Fe 2 O 3 anode materials (α-/γ-Fe 2 O 3 nano spheres, respectively) with isomerism can be obtained by simply adjusting calcination temperatures. Both of the α-Fe 2 O 3 and γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanospheres show good lithium storing reversibility when used as anode materials in LIBs. Furthermore the as-prepared α-Fe 2 O 3 nano-electrode with lower electrochemical impedance exhibit a far better electrochemical performance (about 74.1% capacity retention (calculated based on the lithiation) from the 1st to 5th cycle) than the γ-one (only 39.0% capacity retention from the 1st to 5th cycle). The results here provide economical yet environment-friendly strategies for developing advanced anode material demanding both high energy and long lifespan for full-cell lithium battery.