Wet-Chemical Synthesis and Electrochemical Properties of Ce-Doped FeVO 4 for Use as New Anode Material in Li-ion Batteries M. Yeganeh Shad • M. Nouri • A. Salmasifar • H. Sameie • R. Salimi • H. Eivaz Mohammadloo • A. A. Sabbagh Alvani • M. Ashuri • M. Tahriri Received: 28 May 2013 / Accepted: 5 July 2013 / Published online: 19 July 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract Ce-doped FeVO 4 nanocomposites were suc- cessfully synthesized using reverse micro-emulsion route. Thermal and microstructural characteristics were compre- hensively investigated by simultaneous thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission elec- tron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and laser particle size analyzer. Moreover, as the anode material of lithium-ion batteries, the electrochemical properties were studied by galvanostatic charge and discharge tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The thermal analysis illustrated that the triclinic crystal structure of FeVO 4 nanoparticles is formed at about 520 °C, which is confirmed by XRD and FT-IR results. Furthermore, the microstructural analyses revealed more regular particles and high specific surface area for wet-chemical derived FeVO 4 :Ce, which decreases the diffusion pathway of the lithium ions during the insertion/extraction process. The electrochemical measurements indicated that the electrode cycling performance and rate retention ability of Ce-doped FeVO 4 are better than those of pure FeVO 4 due to the expansion of the crystal lattice, which provided more lat- tice space for lithium intercalation and de-intercalation. Consequently, the as-prepared Ce-doped FeVO 4 with rel- atively high specific and reversible capacity, thermal sta- bility and satisfactory cycling performance is a promising candidate for use as a lithium batteries anode material. Keywords Lithium-ion batteries  Anode materials  Electrochemical properties  Reverse micro-emulsion 1 Introduction Considerable progress has been made in the renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic devices, fuel cells and biofuels [1]. One alternative energy/power source under serious consideration is electrochemical energy production, so long as this energy consumption is designed to be more sustainable and more environmentally friendly. Li-ion batteries (LIB) represent promising power sources for advanced electric vehicles and portable electronic devices because of their energy density, flexible and lightweight design, high specific energy, long lifespan and recyclability [2–5]. For these applications, the performance of LIB depends on the capacity, power, charge/discharge M. Yeganeh Shad and M. Nouri have contributed equally to this study. M. Yeganeh Shad Department of Materials Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran M. Nouri  H. Sameie  R. Salimi  H. Eivaz Mohammadloo Faculty of Polymer Engineering & Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran A. Salmasifar Department of Polymer Engineering & Color Technology, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran H. Sameie (&)  R. Salimi (&)  H. Eivaz Mohammadloo  A. A. Sabbagh Alvani Color and Polymer Research Center (CPRC), Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran e-mail: h-sameie@aut.ac.ir R. Salimi e-mail: r-salimi@aut.ac.ir M. Ashuri  M. Tahriri Biomaterials Group, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran 123 J Inorg Organomet Polym (2013) 23:1226–1232 DOI 10.1007/s10904-013-9909-7