Scalable synthesis of Fe3O4/C composites with enhanced electrochemical performance as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

A facile and scalable process for synthesizing Fe3O4/C composites via a solution combustion technique followed by carbon-coating annealing treatment is developed. The as-prepared Fe3O4/C sample containing about 13.9 wt% carbon displays an attractive cycling performance up to 100 cycles (∼470 mA h g−1 retained at 100 mA g−1). In addition, the Fe3O4/C electrode shows good rate capability, a capacity of 530 mA h g−1 at 92.4 mA g−1 is still recoverable and sustainable up to 60 cycles after charge/discharge process at high rates. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be attributed to the improved electron transport from the consecutive carbon layer and Li+ diffusion due to the nanoscale nature of the Fe3O4 active materials. The present work represents a successful example of solution combustion technique combined with carbon-coating annealing process for preparing iron oxide-based electrodes in large scale, which can also be extended to prepare other metal oxide/carbon composites.