Facile synthesis of mesoporous Ge/C nanocomposite as anode material for lithium-ion battery

•A facile synthesis strategy for the Ge/C nanocomposite materials.•The Ge nanoparticles homogenously dispersed in an ordered mesoporous carbon matrix.•The obtained material possesses a stable reversible capacity of 736 mAh/g.

A facile strategy is reported for the synthesis of mesoporous Ge/C nanocomposite material by using ordered mesoporous carbon as a matrix material and tetraethoxygermane (TEOG) as a germanium precursor. TEOG was impregnated into the pore space of porous carbon matrix and in situ converted to GeO2 under the help of the moisture in the air. Then the GeO2/C intermediate was reduced to Ge/C nanocomposite by H2 treatment at 500 °C. This synthesis procedure does not involve the using of glove box or electrochemical cell, making it can be easily scaled up. The synthesized mesoporous Ge/C nanocomposite material displays good electrochemical properties with high reversible capacity (736 mAh/g) and stable cycle performance. The results indicate that the mesoporous Ge/C nanocomposite material can be a promising candidate for electrode material in lithium ion batteries.