Multilayered structure of N-carbonenvelopediron oxide/graphene nanocomposites as an improved anode for Li-ion battery

Abstract Transition metal oxides with high capacity are considered a promising electrode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Nevertheless, the huge volume expansion and poor conductivity severely hamper their practical application.In this work,a carbon riveting method is reported to address the above issues by designing multilayered N-doped carbon (N-carbon) enveloped Fe3O4/graphene nanosheets. When evaluated as a negative electrode, the N-carbon/Fe3O4/graphene nanocomposites demonstrate greatly enhanced electrochemical properties compared with Fe3O4/graphene. The N-carbon/Fe3O4/graphene presents a superior reversible capacity (807 mA h/g) over Fe3O4/graphene (540 mA h/g). Furthermore, it affords a considerable capacity of 550 mA h/g at 1 A/g over 700 cycles, indicating superb cycling stability. The structure-property correlation studies reveal that the carbon riveting layer is essential for enhancing the lithium diffusion kinetics. The good electrochemical properties and effective structure design make the carbon riveting strategy quite general and reliable to manipulate high performance electrodes for future LIBs.