Design and synthesis of yolk-shell Fe2O3/N-doped carbon nanospindles with rich oxygen vacancies for robust lithium storage

Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) is an attractive anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with a high theoretical capacity of 1005 mA h g(-1). However, its practical application is greatly restrained by the rapid capacity fading caused by the large volume expansion upon lithiation. To address this issue, we have designed and synthesized a unique yolk-shell Fe2O3/N-doped carbon hybrid structure (YS-Fe2O3@NC) with rich oxygen vacancies for robust lithium storage. The obtained results show that YS-Fe2O3@NC delivers a high reversible capacity of 578 mA h g(-1) after 300 cycles at a current density of 5 A g(-1), about 11 times that (53.7 mA h g(-1)) of pristine Fe2O3. Furthermore, a high specific capacity of 300.5 mA h g(-1) even at 10 A g(-1) is achieved. The high reversible capacities, excellent rate capability and cycle stability of YS-Fe2O3@NC might be attributed to the elaborate yolk-shell nanoarchitecture. Moreover, electron percolation and a local built-in electric field induced by oxygen vacancies in the Fe2O3 matrix could also enhance the kinetics of Li+ insertion/deinsertion.