Synthesis of ternary GNP-CNT-ZrO2 nanocomposite as a high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

The modulation of electrical charge transport in electrodes through mesoscale structural design is crucial in developing high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, three nanocomposites were fabricated by incorporating ZrO2 nanoparticles into carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), and GNP-CNT structures. The synthesizing was a simple hydrothermal method followed by annealing to prepare CNT-ZrO2 (C-Z), GNP-ZrO2 (G-Z), and GNP-CNT-ZrO2 (G-C-Z) materials for a three-dimensional highly efficient anode for LIBs. The electrochemical performance was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), which demonstrated excellent reversibility for the G-C-Z material. A study on the rate performance confirmed reversible discharge capacity of 512, 274, 248, 206, and 175 mAh/g at 0.2, 1, 5, 15, and 20 A/g, respectively, for the G-C-Z anode, which demonstrated the highest reversibility among the synthesized anodes. Even after 500 cycles at a current density of 5 A/g, this electrode maintained its specific capacity and electrochemical cycling reversibility at almost 98.5%. The lower capacity of C-Z and G-Z structures was attributed to the aggregation of constituents. The Nyquist plots after 500 cycles demonstrated the lowest charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 52.19 Ω and the highest value of Li-ion diffusion coefficient (DLi+) for the G-C-Z anode, ensuring excellent long-life electron conductivity.