Graphene/Fe3O4 hollow sphere nanocomposites as superior anode material for lithium ion batteries

Graphene wrapped Fe3O4 hollow nanospheres are synthesized via a simple self-assembly process driven by electrostatic interaction. The nanocomposites are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, FTIR, cyclic voltammogram and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. The results demonstrate that the graphene-wrapped Fe3O4 hollow nanospheres present excellent cycling stability and high discharge capacity of 1148 mA h g(-1) until 50 cycles at 0.2 C. Both the graphene wrapped around the surfaces of Fe3O4 hollow nanospheres and the porosity resulting from the void in nanoparticle packing in the overall assembled structure contribute to remarkable electrochemical performance of this material. The developed strategy can be readily generalized to fabricate other graphene-based hybrid nanostructures, which will be promising materials for high-performance electrochemical devices. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.