Uniform core–shell nanobiscuits of Fe7S8@C for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries with excellent performance

Abstract

Iron sulfides, as promising anode materials, have been intensively studied, but still encounter problems due to their limited cycle life caused by huge volume changes. In the present work, a facile method has been presented to prepare Fe₂O₃ nanobiscuits followed by poly(dopamine) coating. After thermally induced sulfurization, Fe₇S₈@C nanobiscuits have been successfully obtained, which show high specific capacities, excellent rate capabilities and stable cycling stability as anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). They exhibit high reversible capacities of 547.3 mA h g⁻¹ after 600 cycles and 530.8 mA h g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g⁻¹ for LIBs and SIBs, respectively. This outstanding electrochemical performance may be attributed to the stress-buffering effect owing to the biscuit-like nanostructure and conformal surface coating with carbon.