Lithiation of an Iron Oxide-Based Anode for Stable, High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries of Porous Carbon-Fe3O4/Li[Ni0.59Co0.16Mn0.25]O-2

Abstract

The lithium storage capacity of an iron oxide-based anode of porous carbon-Fe3O4 (i.e., PC-Fe3O4) was investigated by varying the initial current and mass density of the electrode to achieve a good utilization coefficient of the oxide. It was confirmed that these factors largely affected the capacity of PC-Fe3O4 and a certain mass density of the electrode was key to achieve a high area capacity (mu Ahcm(-2)). Moreover, the chemical and electrochemical lithiation of PC-Fe3O4 were related to the lithiation time and pressure and both were both systemically studied. After optimization, a new battery of PC-Fe3O4/Li[Ni0.59Co0.16Mn0.25]O-2 with a high area capacity of 748 mu Ahcm(-2) (150 mAhg(-1)) and superior energy density of 483 Whkg(-1) (work voltage approximate to 3.2 V) was developed. The battery showed reversible work ability in the rate window of 50-800 mAg(-1), and also it could be charged/discharged for well over 1000 cycles with a capacity retention of 63.8% under the high current value of 0.505 mA (current density, 50 mAg(-1)).