Electrochemical Properties of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as an Anode for Li-ion Batteries

The synthesis of iron oxide nano-particles by direct thermal decomposition was studied. Simultaneous thermal analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of iron-urea complex and disclosed iron oxide formation mechanism. Calcination of the iron-urea complex at 200°C and 250°C for 2 h resulted in the formation of maghemite along with hematite as a second phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that increment of iron-urea complex calcination temperature led to the augmentation of hematite to maghemite ratio. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the average particle size was around 38nm for the sample calcined at 250°C for 2 hrs. The anode body was doctor bladed using primary powder with polyvinylidene difluoride and graphite. Galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling showed a reversible capacity of 483 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g−1 current density. The reason for this competent performance was thought to be dependent upon the particle sizes.