High lithium storage performance of Co-Fe2O3 materials with different cobalt doping contents as negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

The practical application of Fe₂O₃ as the anode material in LIBs is greatly hindered by several severe issues, such as drastic capacity falloff, short cyclic life, and huge volume change during the charge/discharge process. To tackle these limitations, cobalt-doped mesoporous Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The mesoporous structure can alleviate the volume expansion and stress during the charge–discharge process and improve cycle stability. When Co-Fe₂O₃(1:1) is used as the anode of a lithium-ion battery, the first discharge capacity is 873.20 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 50 mA g⁻¹. Under a current density of 200 mA g⁻¹, after 100 charge–discharge cycles, the specific discharge capacity of Co-Fe₂O₃(1:1) reached 576.12 mAh g⁻¹, with the Coulombic efficiency still maintained at 97.83%. Therefore, Co-Fe₂O₃(1:1) has great potential as an anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.