Direct Synthesis of Self-Assembled\nFerrite/Carbon\nHybrid Nanosheets for High Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Abstract

Extensive applications of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries\n(LIBs)\nto various portable electronic devices and hybrid electric vehicles\nresult in the increasing demand for the development of electrode materials\nwith improved electrochemical performance including high energy, power\ndensity, and excellent cyclability, while maintaining low production\ncost. Here, we present a direct synthesis of ferrite/carbon hybrid\nnanosheets for high performance lithium-ion battery anodes. Uniform-sized\nferrite nanocrystals and carbon materials were synthesized simultaneously\nthrough a single heating procedure using metal–oleate complex\nas the precursors for both ferrite and carbon. 2-D nanostructures\nwere obtained by using sodium sulfate salt powder as a sacrificial\ntemplate. The 2-D ferrite/carbon nanocomposites exhibited excellent\ncycling stability and rate performance derived from 2-D nanostructural\ncharacteristics. The synthetic procedure is simple, inexpensive, and\nscalable for mass production, and the highly ordered 2-D structure\nof these nanocomposites has great potential for many future applications.