Rational design of hierarchical FeSe2 encapsulated with bifunctional carbon cuboids as an advanced anode for sodium-ion batteries.

Abstract

Earth-abundant transition-metal selenides (TMSs) have aroused great interest towards their application in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we present Fe-based Prussian blue analogs (PBA) modified by graphene oxide as precursors to synthesize FeSe2 nanoparticles within a nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) matrix and graphene layer (FeSe2/NC@G). The bifunctional carbon wrapped FeSe2/NC@G shows excellent sodium-storage performance with a large reversible capacity of 331 mA h g-1 at 5.0 A g-1 and a high cyclability of 323 mA h g-1 at the current density of 2.0 A g-1 after 1000 cycles (82% capacity retention). Furthermore, full SIBs are also fabricated and exhibit superior capacities and stabilities. The remarkable electrochemical properties result from the formation of an Fe-O-C chemical bond in the composite with enhanced electronic/ionic diffusion kinetics and structural integrity. This study paves the way for the successful synthesis of novel nanostructural TMSs which can be utilized in energy storage system application.