title: Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles wrapped in multi-walled carbon nanotubes with enhanced lithium storage capability.
abstract: We have designed a novel hybrid nanostructure by coating Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with multi-walled carbon nanotubes to enhance the lithium storage capability of Fe₂O₃. The strategy to prepare Fe₂O₃@MWCNTs involves the synthesis of Fe nanoparticles wrapped in MWCNTs, followed by the oxidation of Fe nanoparticles under carbon dioxide. When used as the anode in a Li-ion battery, this hybrid material (70.32 wt% carbon nanotubes, 29.68 wt% Fe₂O₃) showed a reversible discharge capacity of 515 mAhg⁻¹ after 50 cycles at a density of 100 mAg⁻¹ and the capacity based on Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was calculated as 1147 mAhg⁻¹, Three factors are responsible for the superior performance: (1) The hollow interiors of MWCNTs provide enough spaces for the accommodation of large volume expansion of inner Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles, which can improving the stability of electrode; (2) The MWCNTs increase the overall conductivity of the anode; (3) A stable solid electrolyte interface film formed on the surface of MWCNTs may reduce capacity fading.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Materials Science & Engineering & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xuhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qianwang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen