Hierarchical nanospheres of Fe₂O₃-Fe₂N anchored on reduced graphene oxide as a high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

The development of cost-effective and promising anode material is an ever-growing demand of the energy storage research community. Here we report a hierarchically nanostructured lithium-ion storage anode developed by partial nitridation of Fe₂O₃ nanospheres anchored on reduced graphene oxide sheets (Fe₂O_3-Fe₂N/rGO). The incorporation of electron-rich N-moiety profoundly stabilizes Fe₂O₃ during the delithiation process. The graphene network not only serves as a nucleation substrate for suppressing agglomeration of Fe₂O₃-Fe₂N but also provides a large surface area, high electrical conductivity, faster ionic diffusion kinetics and maintains structural integrity while absorbing high strain. The structure, morphology and composition analysis validated the successful development of the targeted material. The enhanced structural attributes ensure the effectiveness of Fe₂O₃-Fe₂N/rGO as high-performance anode material with an initial discharge capacity of 1565 mAh g^‒1 at 50 mA g^‒1 and capacity retention of 759 mAh g^‒1 after 500 cycles reflecting superior cycling stability and rate performance.