Design of Nb2O5@rGO composites to optimize the lithium-ion storage performance

Compounding with carbonaceous materials is the most common method used to improve the performance of battery electrodes. In this work, the hydrothermal method is employed to synthesize the pure Nb2O5 and Nb2O5@rGO composites. Meanwhile, the electrochemical performance of pure Nb2O5 and Nb2O5@rGO composites as the anode for the lithium-ion battery is studied. The pure Nb2O5 exhibits the cycling stability keeping 58% of the initial specific capacity after 1000 cycles at the current density of 1.0 A g−1 and the specific capacity of 120 mAh g−1 at the current density of 1.0 A g−1, but the Nb2O5@rGO composites all show the cycling stability keeping 100% of the initial specific capacity after 1000 cycles at the current density of 1.0 A g−1 and higher specific capacity than that of the pure Nb2O5. When the amount of rGO in the Nb2O5@rGO composite is the largest, the specific capacity of Nb2O5@rGO composite is maximum (270 mAh g−1 at the current density of 1.0 A g−1). In addition, after introduction of rGO, the conductivity and rate performance of composite materials can also be improved. This work well proves that compounding with the rGO can improve the electrochemical performance of composite material.