Heterogeneous iron oxide nanoparticles anchored on carbon nanotubes for high-performance lithium-ion storage and fenton-like oxidation.

In this work, heterogeneous hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles are jointly engineered on the external surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to construct a composite material (Fe2O3@Fe3O4/CNT). A simple one-step redox reaction is triggered in a hydrothermal reaction system containing functionalized CNT (FCNT) aqueous suspension and iron foils. Both Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles with controlled size are generated and well dispersed in the interconnected CNT framework. Controlled samples of Fe2O3@Fe3O4 and Fe3O4/CNT have also been prepared and used to investigate the synthetic mechanism and evaluate the lithium-ion storage performances. As an anodic active material for lithium-ion batteries, the Fe2O3@Fe3O4/CNT composite delivered a high reversible capacity of about 924 mAh·g-1 for 200 continual charge/discharge cycles under a high current rate of 1000 mA·g-1. As a catalyst in a Fenton-like reaction for degrading methyl orange (MO) contaminant in waterbody, the Fe2O3@Fe3O4/CNT composite exhibited an attractive decomposition efficiency (99.5% decomposition within 60 min) and good stability. The beneficial factors contributing to the inspiring performances are discussed. The effective and scalable material design and synthesis method can be regarded to have good potential in other fields.