Micro-sized（1030.3±178.4 nm） and nano-sized（50.4±8.0 nm） Fe3O4 particles have been fabricated through hydrogen thermal reduction of α-Fe2O3 particles synthesized by means of a hydrothermal process.The morphology and microstructure of the micro-sized and the nano-sized Fe3O4 particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction,field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy and highresolution electron microscopy.The micro-sized Fe3O4 particles exhibit porous structure,while the nano-sized Fe3O4 particles are solid structure.Their electrochemical performance was also evaluated.The nano-sized solid Fe3O4 particles exhibit gradual capacity fading with initial discharge capacity of 1083.1 mAhg-1 and reversible capacity retention of 32.6% over 50 cycles.Interestingly,the micro-sized porous Fe3O4 particles display very stable capacity-cycling behavior,with initial discharge capacity of 887.5 mAhg-1 and charge capacity of 684.4 mAhg-1 at the 50th cycle.Therefore,77.1% of the reversible capacity can be maintained over 50 cycles.The micro-sized porous Fe3O4 particles with facile synthesis,good cycling performance and high capacity retention are promising candidate as anode materials for high energy-density lithium-ion batteries.
Two low-cost synthesis routes have been developed to fabricate carbon-coated Li4Ti5O12 by using H2TiO3 instead of anatase TiO2 as Ti source through solid-state reaction process. One route is a direct solid mixture of H2TiO3, Li2CO3 and pitch followed by high-temperature solid-state reaction. The other includes mixture of H2TiO3 and Li2CO3 with pitch dissolved in furanidine under vacuum and the same solid-state reaction procedure is followed after the mixture is totally dried. Microstructural investigations indicate that H2TiO3 exhibits secondary aggregates morphology with primary particle sizes of 10-20 nm. Carbon-coating layers with thickness of 2-3 nm have been observed on Li4Ti5O12 synthesized by the two routes. Cyclic performance, rate capability and electrochemical impedance spectrum of the two Li4Ti5O12/C composites have been performed, which indicate that Li4Ti5O12/C obtained by furanidine-assisted mixture exhibits better electrochemical performance than Li4Ti5O12/C synthesized by direct solid mixture. The possible reasons have been discussed. The low-cost synthesis routes of Li4Ti5O12/C using H2TiO3 as Ti source are expected to be more competitive than the traditional one for practical applications.
Lijun GongYuxi ChenHongjiang YuHongbo LiuCaifu LiZhi-Quan Liu
