One-pot hydrothermal fabrication of α-Fe2O3@C nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage

Abstract A facile hydrothermal method was developed for the preparation of Fe 2 O 3 @C nanocomposites using FeCl 3 •6H 2 O as iron source and glucose as carbon source under alkaline condition. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared product were identified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The as-prepare α-Fe 2 O 3 @C nanocomposites were employed for supercapacitor electrode material. The synergistic combination of carbon electrical double-layer capacitance and α-Fe 2 O 3 pseudo-capacitance established such nanocomposites as versatile platform for high performance supercapacitors. The synthesis method developed here is expected to obtain other metal oxide/carbon composite.