Facile premixed flame synthesis C@Fe2O3/SWCNT as superior free-standing anode for lithium-ion batteries.

Premixed flame configuration is considered as an effective method for the synthesis of carbon materials. In this work, flexible single-walled carbon nanotube network decorated by carbon-encapsulated Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles (C@Fe 2 O 3 /SWCNT) membrane was in-situ fabricated via a facile floating catalyst premixed ethanol flame method, and followed by annealing treatment. In this process, low-cost ethanol and ferrocene were used as carbon source and catalyst precursor for the synthesis of C@Fe 2 O 3 /SWCNT, respectively. Benefiting from the interconnected conductive network, the as-fabricated C@Fe 2 O 3 /SWCNT membrane was used as a free-standing anode for lithium-ion batteries. Structural characterization revealed that the ultrafine Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles homogeneously anchored on the SWCNT network, which facilitates the fast diffusion for electron. Furthermore, the carbon layers uniformly enwrap on Fe 2 O 3 can effectively suppress the aggregation and buffer the volume change of Fe 2 O 3 during the lithiation/delithiation process. Consequently, this material delivered an excellent lithium storage performance with a high reversible capacity of 1294.7 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, and an excellent cyclability of 82.5% retention is obtained after cycles at 2 A g−1. This study provides a novel low-cost and fast method for preparing flexible advanced electrode for next-generation rechargeable batteries. • Free-standing C@Fe 2 O 3 /SWCNT was fabricated via a novel premixed flame. • Low-cost ethanol was used as carbon source for premixed flames. • SWCNT and Fe 2 O 3 synergistically enhance electrical properties of composite anodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]