Preparation of Fe7S8/C composite by one-step hydrothermal method for fast efficient lithium storage with long cycle life

Abstract

High-capacity metal sulfide electrode materials for lithium storage have received extensive attention for the booming battery technology. However, metal sulfide electrodes have poor reaction kinetics in the light of capacity delivery and rate performance. To increase Li-ion storage, an easy one-pot hydrothermal method was presented to prepare a Fe7S8/C composite for lithium-ion batteries anode. The homogeneous doping of nitrogen in the carbon layer is beneficial to the rapid and uniform growth of Fe7S8 nanoparticles. The Fe7S8/C composite provides a strong honeycomb network with stable interfacial bonds by the strong chemical bonds between Fe7S8 and C, which can ease mechanical tension to ensure the stability of the structure during cycling. So the Fe7S8/C composite material has long-term stability (466.8 mAh g−1 at 2C after 2000 cycles). The impressive electrochemical behaviors can be ascribed to enhanced reaction kinetics, where unique carbon network matrix plays a dual role of conductive substrate and channels for electron and ion transport, respectively.