Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ultrafine β-FeOOH Nanorods as Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract β-FeOOH nanorods with the diameter of only 10 nm were fabricated through a facile PEG-assisted hydrothermal synthetic route, which was the smallest dimension reported for the fabrication of β-FeOOH one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures so far. The as-prepared ultrafine β-FeOOH nanorods were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and galvanostatic tests. Electrochemical tests on the as-obtained ultrafine β-FeOOH nanorods revealed that they exhibited excellent electrochemical properties with a large discharge capacity of 290 mA h g−1 and good cycleability, which enabled them to be applied as superior cathode materials for lithium ion battery systems.