Synthesis of Fe2O3in situ on the surface of mesoporous carbon from alginate as a high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

Inspired by the complexation of sodium alginate, we demonstrate here a facile approach for the formation of Fe2O3in situ on the surface of mesoporous carbon (Fe2O3-MC) from alginate. The freeze-dried iron alginate gel (FeA) is converted into mesoporous carbon loaded with Fe2O3 nanoparticles after calcination in vacuum. When used as anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the obtained Fe2O3-MC composite shows a high reversible capacity of 703 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 100 mA g−1. At a much high current density of 2 A g−1, the anode based on Fe2O3-MC still exhibits a higher reversible capacity (384 mAh g−1) than that of the commercially used graphite. The strategy provides a promising facile synthesis route for the fabrication of transition metal oxide-mesoporous carbon composites, which have great potential applications in energy storage.