Enhancement in lithium storage performances of SiO 2 /graphene-based nanocomposites prepared by low cost and facile approach

The new nanocomposites of silicon dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (SiO 2 /rGO) and silicon dioxide/nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (SiO 2 /NrGO) were synthesized by a simple and inexpensive technique. An agricultural waste such as rice husk was chosen as the low-cost biomass resource in order to produce SiO 2 nanoparticles. Phase characterization indicated the coexistence of graphene and amorphous SiO 2 in both SiO 2 /rGO and SiO 2 /NrGO nanocomposites, suggesting the successful incorporation of SiO 2 into graphene sheets. Both composites showed the good distribution of SiO 2 nanoparticles on graphene sheets which could benefit for their electrochemical characteristics. The obtained SiO 2 /rGO and SiO 2 /NrGO nanocomposites possessed high capacity and superior cycle performance. This work demonstrated that the effective preparation technique can be used to produce the new nanocomposites with high performance and cost effective for LIBs. The techniques used in this work were both easy and environmentally friendly.