Synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide directly from nitrogen-doped graphene oxide as a high-performance lithium ion battery anode

A new route has been developed to synthesize nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-RGO) with excellent lithium storage properties. Nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-GO) is firstly synthesized and then reduced to N-RGO. The nitrogen content of N-GO can reach up to 5.6 wt%. After hydrothermal treatment, the nitrogen content of N-RGO still remains at 2.0 wt%. Our N-RGO material reveals excellent reversible capacity of 600 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.1 C (1 C = 372 mA g−1) after 60 cycles, superior to that of pristine-RGO (350 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.1 C). Our work opens up a new way to synthesize N-RGO, which is a promising candidate for lithium ion battery (LIB) anodes. In addition, the intermediate N-GO, with high activity, can combine with other materials for convenient application. In this work the Fe2O3/N-RGO composite is also prepared to show the outstanding properties of N-RGO.