Fabrication of Carbonaceous Nanotubes and Mesoporous Nanofibers as Stable Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Battery

The morphologies and pore architectures of carbon nanostructures could be precisely controlled via a self-assembly process. This work presented resorcinol-formaldehyde resin-silica composite nanofibers, which were synthesized through a sol–gel method under the help of costructure directing agent (CSDA) (S)-β-citronellol and n-hexanol. The self-assembly process and the nanostructure of obtained composite nanofibers were changed by adding different CSDA. After carbonization and getting rid of silica, carbonaceous nanotubes and mesoporous nanofibers were obtained, respectively. Their electrochemical performance was tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Stable discharge capacities of 574.3 mA h g–1 for carbonaceous nanotubes and 609.9 mA h g–1 for mesoporous carbonaceous nanofibers after 300 cycles were achieved at current density of 0.1 A g–1. Thus, a facile method of designing and fabricating excellent carbon anode candidates for LIBs was provided