Nanostructured CeO2/FeO3/Mn-rGO composite as anode material in Li-ion battery

Based on the idea of exploring the possibility of designing anode material for high-capacity lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, we have successfully synthesized Mn-doped CeO₂/Fe₂O₃ (CFM) nanocomposite with and without reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via two steps hydrothermal method. The microscopy result revealed that morphology orientation of the nanocomposites strongly depends on the temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to identify phase transition and stability. X-ray diffraction, surface area analysis (BET) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) provided information about the structural, specific surface area and morphology of the samples. Elemental compositions and oxidation states of the samples were confirmed by EDX and XPS. When the prepared nanocomposites were used as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries, both CFM and CFM@rGO composites exhibited high capacity and good cycling stability. However, the CFM@rGO composite gives more lithiation sites and accommodate large volume changes during the lithiation/delithiation process than pure CFM composite. Thus, an average reversible capacity of over ∼420 mAhg⁻¹ was obtained at a current of 0.1 C even after 50 cycles. The obtained result demonstrated that hydrothermal method could be more suitable for the preparation of large-scale CFM@rGO anode materials for Li-ion battery application.