(603e) Magnetic Field-Induced Fabrication of Fe3O4@Graphene Nanocomposites for Enhanced Electrode Performance in Lithium-Ion Batteries

We report a novel magnetic field-assisted approach for the fabrication of nanoporous, non-agglomerated, wrinkled Fe₃O₄@reduced graphene oxide (RGO) anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The RGO sheets provide protection to Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles by preventing Fe₃O₄ agglomeration and facilitating the accommodation of the drastic volume change of Fe₃O₄ during lithiation/delithiation, thus enhancing the structural integrity and interfacial stabilization of the electrode. The Fe₃O₄@RGO anode with porous/wrinkled architecture does not only facilitate the Li ion and electron transport kinetics, but also simplifies the electrode fabrication process, as it does not require a polymer binder and a carbon conductive additive. As a result, at relatively low specific currents (157 mA/g), such Fe₃O₄@RGO anode shows high reversible specific capacities (up to 903 mAh/g at 157 mA/g). At high discharge rate (1.57 A/g), the specific capacity of such Fe₃O₄@RGO anode stays at 345 mAh/g (with capacity retention of 90%) after 100 discharge/charge cycles compared to the rapid capacity fading associated with nonporous /flat Fe₃O₄@RGO anode with a specific capacity of 178 mAh/g after same number of cycles. These results demonstrate that magnetic field treatment is a promising approach for fabricating desired nanocarbon structures with magnetic nanoparticles.