Facile synthesis of Fe4N/Fe2O3/Fe/porous N-doped carbon nanosheet as high-performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Iron nitrides are considered as highly promising anode materials for lithium-ion batteries because of their nontoxicity, high abundance, low cost, and higher electrical conductivity. Unfortunately, their limited synthesis routes are available and practical application is still hindered by their fast capacity decay. Herein, a facile and green route is developed to synthesize Fe4N/Fe2O3/Fe/porous N-doped carbon nanosheet composite. The size of Fe4N/Fe2O3/Fe particles is small (10–40 nm) and they are confined in porous N-doped carbon nanosheet. These features are conducive to accommodate volume change well, shorten the diffusion distance and further elevate electrical conductivity. When tested as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, a high discharge capacity of 554 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and 389 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles at 1000 mA g−1 are retained. Even at 2000 mA g−1, a high capacity of 330 mA h g−1 can be achieved, demonstrating superior cycling stability and rate performance. New prospects will be brought by this work for the synthesis and the potential application of iron nitrides materials as an anode for LIBs.