Facile Synthesis Sandwich-Structured Ge/NrGO Nanocomposite as Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

This work aimed to design a facile preparation of sandwich-liked Ge nanoparticles/nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (Ge/NrGO) nanocomposites used as anode in lithium-ion batteries through the chemical solution route. The advanced electron microscopy, STEM-HAADF and STEM-EDS mapping, evidenced that the individual Ge particles with sizes ranging from 5 to 20 nm were distributed and wrapped as sandwiches within the multi-layered NrGO sheets, which were mainly composed of the pyridinic-N form (4.8%wt.). The battery performances of the 20Ge/NrGO nanocomposite anode exhibit a high reversible capacity (700 mAh g−1) and retained its outstanding stability during long-term cycling. The internal resistance (28.0 Ω) was also decreased after cycling, according to EIS measurement. The sandwiched structure of Ge-based nanocomposite with the interconnected NrGO layers discussed in this article possessed the high-performance LIBs with great potential application in energy storage technologies.

Keywords

• germanium
• nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide
• nanocomposite design
• sandwiched structure
• anode material
• lithium-ion battery