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. •Cerium vanadate and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites were synthesized.•CeVO4/RGO composites showed improved cycling performance and rate capability.•CeVO4/RGO composites had low charging potential of 1.35 V.•CeVO4/RGO composites exhibited high power density of 234 W g−1.