Synthesis of coral-like Fe2N@C nanoparticles and application in sodium ion batteries as a novel anode electrode material

Abstract

Fast development of low-cost sodium ion batteries (SIBs) has boosted research efforts to identify proper anode materials, and now more attention is paid on carbon composites with better performance than simplex compounds. According to the explored different kinds of anode materials for SIBs in the past, only a few works are about transition metal nitrides. Herein a carbon-coated iron nitride was synthesized and applied for the first time in sodium ion batteries (SIBs), and the primary mechanism was detected via in situ XRD confirming Fe₂N activity during discharge in SIBs. Fe₂N nanoparticles as anodes in SIBs showed better stability than most of the materials reported in SIBs. The cycling performance of the synthesized coral-like Fe₂N@C nanoparticles was significantly promoted compared to the pure nitride, and the improved performance of the carbon coated coral-like Fe₂N suggests that more explorations about nitride electrode materials for SIBs are needed.