Cerium vanadate and reduced graphene oxide composites for lithium-ion batteries

There has been a significant interest in the development of novel anode materials that can solve the problems of lithium plating and dendrite formation during the discharge-charge process, thus ensuring safety in Li-ion batteries. We synthesized tetragonal CeVO4 as an alternative to graphite, the active material in commercial Li-ion batteries, via a hydrothermal reaction; CeVO4 has lower lithium insertion potentials of 1.0 and 1.5 V versus Li+/Li compared to those of lithium titanium oxide. In order to overcome the drawbacks of the metal oxide, such as low electrical conductivity and volume change upon cycling, CeVO4/RGO composites were synthesized by mixing CeVO4 uniformly with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) via a solid-state reaction. The CeVO4/RGO composites exhibited improved cycling performance and rate capability, with relatively low charging potential of 1.35 V and high power density of 235 W g−1 at 10 wt% RGO, as compared to the pure CeVO4. Our results suggest that the CeVO4/RGO composites have great potential for use as an anode in lithium ion batteries with high power density and excellent safety.