Nanostructured Fe2O3 Based Composites Prepared through Arc Plasma Method as Anode Materials in the Lithium-Ion Battery

In the present work, a method combining arc plasma evaporation of a metal followed by oxidation in air was developed to produce nanosized metal oxide based composites in large scale. As an example, Fe2O3 based nanocomposites were prepared through such a method. With increasing the oxidation temperature, alpha-Fe2O3 content in the composites increases, while gamma-Fe2O3 and residual alpha-Fe contents decrease. As anode materials for lithium batteries, the electrochemical properties of nanosized Fe2O3 composites were tested. It was found that the anode materials changed to tiny crystallites and then followed by grain growth during the galvanostatic charge/discharge cycles. A capacity rising was observed for the composites obtained at 400 degrees C and 450 degrees C, which was more prominent with increasing the oxidation temperature. Among these composites, the one obtained at 450 degrees C showed the best performance: a specific capacity of 507.6mAh/g remained after 150 cycles at a current density of 200mA/g, much higher than that of the commercial nano-Fe2O3 powder (similar to 180mAh/g after 30 cycles).