Nanocomposite composed of multiwall carbon nanotubes covered by hematite nanoparticles as anode material for Li-ion batteries

This work describes the detailed studies performed on the nanocomposite composed of chemically-modified multiwall carbon nanotubes covered by hematite nanoparticles which diameters vary from 10 nm to 70 nm. This nanomaterial was fabricated in two-steps facile chemical synthesis and was characterized with the use of several experimental techniques, such as: thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy in order to determine its structure precisely. Moreover, the investigated nanocomposite was tested as an anode material of Li-ion batteries. Its cycling performance was stable during 40 cycles, while its capacity was retained at the level of 330 and 230 mAh/g at the discharge/charge rate of 25 and 200 mA/g, respectively.