Experimental Study on the Preparation of Ag Nanoparticle Doped Fullerenol for Lithium Ion Battery Application

Preparation and application in the energy field of Ag nanoparticle (NP) doped fullerenol have been investigated. Ag NP doped fullerenol is prepared using the electrostatic self-assembly method followed by a pyrolysis process, and characterized by Fourier transformation intermediate infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy­(TEM), galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling, and cyclic voltammograms (CV). Experimental results indicate that Ag NP doped fullerenol exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 389 mAh·g^–1 during galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling, and maintains a discharge capacity of 283 mAh·g^–1 at a current density of 50 mA·g^–1 after 50 cycles. The doped product is a mixture of fullerenol and Ag NPs, which distributes among the sample and acts as an electrical conductor in the discharge/charge process. The discharge/charge mechanism is a reversible formation of Li_n(C₆₀O₁₀) and liberation of Li⁺ from this Li metallized compound. It is therefore believed this material can be used as an anode for lithium ion battery application.