Synthesis of Fe2O3/rGO Based Composites as Anode material for Lithium ion batteries using sewage sludge as source of Iron (III) oxide

Abstract

The current study focused on creating ferric oxide from oily sewage sludge through a hydrothermal reaction and creating a composite of ferric oxide and reduced graphene oxide (Fe2O3/rGO) through a hydrothermal reaction in order to study the electrochemical behavior of the composite as an anode aimed at a high-performance Li-ion battery. The successful synthesis of the Fe2O3/rGO composite using the hydrothermal process was demonstrated by morphological and structural analyses by SEM and XRD. It was also demonstrated that γ-Fe2O3 particles were dispersed on the wrinkled surface of the rGO nanosheets, which can increase the active surface and facilitate electrochemical reactions by providing a path for Li-ions to permeate from the electrolyte to the solid electrode. Study the electrochemical properties of Fe2O3/rGO composite as anode in electrochemical cell showed a reversible discharge capacity of 1250 mAhg−1after 100 cycles at a density of 0.1 Ag−1 with coulombic efficiency of 96%, which indicted to better or appropriate performance in Fe2O3/rGO composite in comparison with the other reported electrode for Li-ion batteries because of synergetic effect of γ-Fe2O3 and rGO nanosheets to enhances in the active surface and facilitates the electrochemical reaction between Fe2O3 and Li+ ions. Results of the rate performance of the Fe2O3/rGO nanocomposite electrode under various current densities from 0.1 Ag−1 to 2 Ag−1 at room temperature demonstrated great rate performance and very stable cycling performance.