Rational
design of the dimension and structure for electrode materials
is an efficient strategy to boost the electrochemical properties.
Herein, Fe2O3 nanoparticles are integrated with
carbon substrates of different dimensions including a one-dimensional
carbon nanotube (CNT), two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO),
and a three-dimensional carbon framework composed of CNT and rGO via
facile heterogeneous nucleation under hydrothermal conditions. These
materials demonstrate a strong structure-dependent electrochemical
performance. Among the three composites constructed, the rGO/CNT–Fe2O3 composite possesses an interconnected network
with Fe2O3 uniformly distributed in the three-dimensional
carbon skeleton composed of CNT and rGO. The two-dimensional conductive
rGO could not only confine the Fe2O3 nanoparticles
within the graphene layers to prevent the pulverization and agglomeration
of Fe2O3 but also offer accessible active sites
for the electrochemical reaction. The one-dimensional CNT interspersed
within the interlayer space between the rGO nanosheet could impede
the folding of the rGO sheet to enhance the ion/electron transport
as well as maintain the multistructure of the composite during the
charge and discharge process. Therefore, rGO/CNT–Fe2O3 can achieve a superior initial reversible capacity
of 1306.9 mAh g–1 at 500 mA g–1 with a high capacity retention of 760.3 mAh g–1 after 400 cycles and a remarkable rate performance of 424.2 mAh
g–1 at 5 A g–1. This work provides
insight into the effect of carbon dimension on the energy storage
capacity and develops an efficient strategy to construct multidimensional
transition-metal oxide-based composites as anode materials for lithium-ion
batteries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.