1D hollow α-Fe2O3 electrospun nanofibers as high performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

• Main Authors: Chaudhari, Sudeshna, Srinivasan, Madhavi
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/96781; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/11611
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Hollow-structured α-Fe2O3 nanofibers were successfully synthesized by a simple electrospinning technique using iron acetylacetonate (Fe(acac3)) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) precursor. Fe (acac)3–PVP composite fibers were calcined at high temperature to form an interconnected 1D hollow-structure of α-Fe2O3 nanofibers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) were employed to characterize α-Fe2O3 hollow fibers. Based on the characterization results, a formation mechanism for electrospun α-Fe2O3 hollow fibers is proposed. Electrochemical measurements showed that the hollow-structure of α-Fe2O3 nanofibers played an important role in improving the electrode cycle stability and rate capability in lithium ion batteries. The α-Fe2O3 hollow fiber anodes exhibit a high reversible capacity of 1293 mA h g−1 at a current density of 60 mA g−1 (0.06 C) with excellent cycle stability and rate capability. Based on our study this high performance is attributed to the interconnected hollow-structure of large aspect ratio α-Fe2O3 nanofibers, which makes them a potential candidate for lithium ion batteries.