Ge nanoparticles embedded in spherical ordered mesoporous carbon as anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries

Highlights: • S-OMC/Ge composite was prepared with S-OMC as the protective substrate. • S-OMC/Ge was synthesized by solution impregnation and reduction process. • The pores of S-OMC suppress the volume expansion and aggregation of Ge particles. • S-OMC/Ge composite exhibited superior electrochemical performances. Germanium-based anode materials suffer from huge volume expansion during the lithium ion insertion/extraction process, along with particle agglomeration, resulting in electrodes destruction and batteries failure. Ge nanoparticles embedded in spherical ordered mesoporous carbon (S-OMC/Ge) composite could effectively alleviate the defects in the cycle, which provided a novel material with stable cycle performance, high capacity and good conductivity. The S-OMC/Ge composite maintained reversible capacities of 996 mAh·g⁻¹ after 160 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹ and 530 mAh·g⁻¹ at a high rate of 1 A g⁻¹, attributed to the synergistic effect between the support of spherical OMC and the high capacity provided by dispersed Ge particles.