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Self-assembled porous Fe3O4/C nanoclusters with superior rate capability for advanced lithium-ion batteries

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Abstract

Porous Fe3O4/C nanoclusters composed of nanopores with an average size of 7.1 and ~ 2 nm thick carbon layers inlaid homogenously with ~ 5.1 nm Fe3O4 nanocrystals are successfully prepared for the first time via a hydrothermal process using iron chloride hexahydrate, tri-sodium citrate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, glucose and sodium carbonate as starting materials. The obtained powders were systematically characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, BET and Raman techniques. It has been found that the self-aggregation of glucose molecules and Fe(OH)3 nanoparticles via the molecular chain entanglements between molecules during the condensation and carbonization of glucose should be responsible for the formation of the precursory agglomerates, which are then turned into the porous Fe3O4/C nanoclusters with complex microstructures. These porous Fe3O4/C nanoclusters used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries exhibit a high reversible capacity of 997.6 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 1 A g−1, and a high-rate delivery of 807.6 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 4 A g−1. The superior performance of Fe3O4/C nanoclusters is mainly attributed to the local dynamic confinement of tiny Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the ultrathin porous carbon matrix.

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Funding

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the funds by the Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (TAPP, No. PPZY2015A041), P. R. China, the school fund by the scientific researching fund projects of Changzhou Institute of Technology (No. YN1635), the training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates of Changzhou Institute of Technology (No. J2016067), the training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates of Jiangsu province (No. 201711055008Z), the national training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates (No. 201711055008), the Youth Fund of the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20170292) and the special Fund of New wall materials of Jiangsu Province (The preparation and performance optimization of new self-thermal insulation aerated wall materials, 2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Changzhou Key Lab of Construction Engineering Structure and Material Properties, School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Changzhou, 213032, People’s Republic of China

    Chuan Ding, Xiaohong Huang, Hu Zhang, Wenqing Zhong, Yifei Xia, Chongjiang Dai, Yu Qin & Jia Zhu

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  1. Chuan Ding
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  2. Xiaohong Huang
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  3. Hu Zhang
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  4. Wenqing Zhong
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  5. Yifei Xia
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  6. Chongjiang Dai
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  7. Yu Qin
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  8. Jia Zhu
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Correspondence to Chuan Ding.

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Ding, C., Huang, X., Zhang, H. et al. Self-assembled porous Fe3O4/C nanoclusters with superior rate capability for advanced lithium-ion batteries. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 6491–6500 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8631-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8631-1

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