Interconnected α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared from leaching liquor of tin ore tailings as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Interconnected α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were prepared by a facile chemical precipitation method with the sulfuric acid leaching liquor of tin ore tailings as Fe source. The effect of different precipitants (sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, and ammonia) on the microstructure and lithium storage properties of the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 was studied in detail. All the prepared samples are composed of interconnected α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with particle sizes ranging from 30 to 60 nm. As anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the electrochemical performance of the α-Fe2O3 sample prepared using sodium carbonate as precipitant (FE-1) exhibits the best electrochemical performance, followed by the α-Fe2O3 sample prepared using sodium hydroxide as precipitant (FE-2), and the α-Fe2O3 sample prepared using ammonia as the precipitant (FE-3). For example, the FE-1 electrode exhibits a reversible discharge capacity of 1146 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 300 cycles, higher than the corresponding values of 969 and 834 mAh g−1 for FE-2 and FE-3, respectively. At a high current density of 4 A g−1, the FE-1 electrode can still deliver a reversible discharge capacity of 377 mAh g−1, higher than that of FE-2 (254 mAh g−1) and FE-3 (86 mAh g−1) electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis reveals that the FE-1 electrode has the smallest electrochemical reaction resistance. Galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) measurements demonstrate that the Li+ diffusion coefficients of the electrode range from 10−14 to 10−11 cm2 s−1. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis proves that pseudocapacitive behavior significantly contributes to the lithium ion storage in the three α-Fe2O3 sample samples. The results reported in this work provide clues for the high-value use of tin ore tailings, which has good social and economic benefits for the sustainable development of industries.