posted on 2021-04-15, 15:05authored byQiong Wang, Yadong Liu, Guanjia Zhu, Cheng Tang, Weiwei Sun, Aijun Du, Minghong Wu, Haijiao Zhang
Iron-based oxides are a class of
attractive anode materials for
lithium-ion batteries by virtue of their high theoretical capacity,
abundant resource, and low cost. Nevertheless, their practical applications
in energy storage are seriously hampered by their inherent large volume
expansion, poor conductivity, and sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein,
we design a unique bone-like Fe3O4@N-doped carbon
(B–Fe3O4@C) composite via a facile Sn2+-induced hydrothermal route. Taking advantage of a unique
morphology, a thin carbon layer coating of about 5 nm, and in situ
nitrogen doping, the as-prepared B–Fe3O4@C anode material demonstrates excellent lithium storage capability.
It delivers a high first discharge capacity (1480.3 mA h g–1 at 0.1 A g–1), superior cycling stability (a capacity
fading of only 0.026% per cycle for 100 cycles at 0.1 A g–1), and good rate capability (480.8 mA h g–1 at
2 A g–1). The theoretical analysis results indicate
that the enhanced electrochemical performance mainly comes from the
increased Li+ adsorption energy on the Sn-doped Fe3O4 surface. The present synthetic study also paves
a way for the facile design of advanced electrode materials for next-generation
energy storage and conversion.