title: Soft-template construction of three-dimensionally ordered inverse opal structure from Li2FeSiO4/C composite nanofibers for high-rate lithium-ion batteries.
abstract: Exploring a new method to fabricate small-sized nanofibers is essential to achieve superior performances for energy conversion and storage devices. Here, a novel soft-template strategy is developed to synthesize a three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) architecture constructed from small-sized nanofibers. The effectiveness of a nanofiber-assembled three-dimensional inverse opal material as an electrode for high-rate lithium-ion batteries is demonstrated. The small-sized Li2FeSiO4/C composite nanofibers with a diameter of 20-30 nm are grown by employing a tri-block copolymer P123 as a structure directing agent. Accordingly, the macro-mesoporous hierarchical 3DOM architecture constructed from Li2FeSiO4/C nanofibers is further templated from P123 for the nanofibers and a polystyrene colloidal crystal array for the 3DOM architecture. We find that the thermal stability of the nanofiber morphology depends on the self-limited growth of Li2FeSiO4 nanocrystals in a crystalline-amorphous hybrid. As a cathode for a lithium-ion battery, the 3D hierarchical macro-mesoporous cathodes exhibit outstanding high-rate and ultralong-life performances with a capacity retention of 84% after 1500 cycles at 5 C in the voltage window of 1.5-4.5 V, which is greatly improved compared with a simple 3DOM Li2FeSiO4/C nanocomposite.
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Donglin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ru
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hong-Tuan-Hua
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guangqi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaoyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gou
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yiyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: New Energy Materials and Device Laboratory, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, China. donglinli@hotmail.com xyfan@chd.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tian