High power density nitridated hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanorods as anode for high-performance flexible lithium ion batteries

• Flexible Nitridated-Fe2O3 nanorods was prepared via hydrothermal and annealing.
• The Nitridated-Fe2O3 electrode exhibited excellent lithium storage performance.
• Flexible lithium ion battery based on the Nitridated-Fe2O3 electrode was fabricated.
• The Nitridated-Fe2O3//LiCoO2 flexible device shows high power density.

Flexible lithium ion batteries shows great attention as up-and-coming power source for the development of flexible and wearable electronic devices. However, they lack suitable electrode materials that are capable of withstanding rapid charging/discharging to facilitate high power density lithium ion batteries. In this work, we fabricate three dimensional (3D) nitridated hematite nanorods on a carbon cloth as high-performance anode for flexible lithium ion batteries. Our strategy to modify the surface of Fe2O3 via nitridation is to improve the electrical conductivity of Fe2O3. XPS, Raman spectra and SEM images confirmed the incorporation of nitriated surface. The fabricated device based on the nitridated hematite nanorod anode exhibiting high flexibility and outstanding lithium storage performance with power and energy densities of 24328 W kg−1 and 163 Wh kg−1, respectively at high current density of 10 A g−1. The high power density is due to the nitridation that provide a short lithium ion diffusion length and a high electronic conductivity in the nitridated-hematite nanorods leading to favorable kinetics electrical conductivity and significantly improved its rate capability.

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