Graphene-Roll-Wrapped Prussian Blue Nanospheres as a High-Performance Binder-Free Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Abstract

Sodium iron hexacyanoferrate (Fe-HCF) has been proposed as a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of its desirable advantages, including high theoretical capacity (∼170 mAh g-1), eco-friendliness, and low cost of worldwide rich sodium and iron resources. Nonetheless, its application faces a number of obstacles due to poor electronic conductivity and structural instability. In this work, Fe-HCF nanospheres (NSs) were first synthesized and fabricated by an in situ graphene rolls (GRs) wrapping method, forming a 1D tubular hierarchical structure of Fe-HCF NSs@GRs. GRs not only provide fast electronic conduction path for Fe-HCF NSs but also effectively prevent organic electrolyte from reaching active materials and inhibit the occurrence of side reactions. The Fe-HCF NSs@GRs composite has been used as a binder-free cathode with a capacity of ∼110 mAh g-1 at a current density of 150 mA g-1 (∼1C), the capacity retention of ∼90% after 500 cycles. Moreover, the Fe-HCF NSs@GRs cathode displays a super high rate capability with ∼95 mAh g-1 at 1500 mA g-1 (∼10C). The results suggest that the 1D tubular structure of 2D GRs-wrapped Fe-HCF NSs is promising as a high-performance cathode for SIBs.