Magnetite nanoparticles embedded on reduced graphene oxide as an anode material for high capacity and long cycle-life Li-ion battery

A facile and cost-effective method was developed for the synthesis of "magnetite/reduced graphene oxide" nanocomposite, as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The fabricated composite was characterized by different instrumental analyses including XRD, Raman, XPS, SEM, TEM, and FTIR, as well as various electro-chemical (i.e. battery) tests. Such broad examination revealed the structure of the prepared material and its electrochemical behavior. It was found that the fabricated composite has a number of advantages over the currently utilized electrode materials such as cost efficiency, high Li ion storage (2528 mAh/g at 0.05 A/g at 1st discharge), cycle stability of 986 mAh/g over 100 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A/g, and eventually Coulombic efficiency of about 100 %. In comparison, the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) shows inferior per-formances, such as a constant capacity of 462 mAh/g, and a slower kinetics of the ion storage. Consequently, the synthesized low-cost anode material seems to be an attractive candidate for development of the next-generation energy-storage devices, used in electrical vehicles, and portable electronic instruments.