Phenolic formaldehyde resin/graphene composites as lithium-ion batteries anode

•PF/G composites prepared by simple spray drying method.•The obtained PF/G composites were three-dimensional network structure.•The PF/G composites show good cycling and high rate performance.

A novel kind of phenol formaldehyde resin and graphene composites were fabricated through spray drying. We synthesized a three-dimensional network structure composites, in which phenol formaldehyde resin offers large lithium storage and graphene layers can provide a highly conductive matrix to enable good contact between particles and facilitate the diffusion and transport of ions. The composite electrodes display a large reversible capacity of 302 mA h g−1 at a current density of 20 mA g−1, and a capacity of 231 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1. After 200 cycles, the capacity retention of composite anodes is almost 99%, further confirming the predominance of this new material for lithium storage.