Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers with effectively encapsulated GeO2 nanocrystals for highly reversible lithium storage

Authors

Lin Mei, Hunan University
Minglei Mao, Hunan University
Shulei Chou, University of WollongongFollow
Hua-Kun Liu, University of WollongongFollow
S X. Dou, University of WollongongFollow
Jianmin Ma, University of Wollongong
Dickon Ng, Chinese University of Hong Kong

RIS ID

103901

Publication Details

Mei, L., Mao, M., Chou, S., Liu, H., Dou, S., Ma, J. & Ng, D. H. L. (2015). Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers with effectively encapsulated GeO2 nanocrystals for highly reversible lithium storage. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 3 (43), 21699-21705.

Abstract

Germanium dioxide is a promising high-capacity anode material for lithium-ion batteries, but it usually exhibits poor cycling stability due to its large volume change during the lithiation/delithiation process. In this paper, homogeneous dispersive GeO2 nanocrystals encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (GeO2-CNFs) were prepared by a facile electrospinning technology. The GeO2-CNF anode material exhibited remarkable capability at a high rate and excellent cycling stability (1031 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 200 cycles). The good electrochemical performance could be attributed to the fact that ultra-uniform CNFs act as a blocking layer and a buffer layer to effectively hold GeO2 nanocrystals and facilitate the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase during Li+ intake/removal. The strategy is a simple and effective method which may be extended to other high-capacity anode materials with a large volume change and low electrical conductivity.