Boosting the sodium storage performance of iron selenides by a synergetic effect of vacancy engineering and spatial confinement

Wang, P., Chen, Y., Liao, X., Lam, K. and Lin, D. (2024) Boosting the sodium storage performance of iron selenides by a synergetic effect of vacancy engineering and spatial confinement. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 655, pp. 748-759. (doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.11.074) (PMID:37976748)

Abstract

Recently, iron selenides have been considered as one of the most promising candidates for the anodes of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their cost-effectiveness and high theoretical capacity; however, their practical application is limited by poor conductivity, large volume variation and slow reaction kinetics during electrochemical reactions. In this work, spatially dual-carbon-confined Vₛₑ-Fe₃Se₄₋ₓSₓ/FeSe₂₋ₓSₓ nanohybrids with abundant Se vacancies (Vₛₑ-Fe₃Se₄₋ₓSₓ/FeSe₂₋ₓSₓ@NSC@rGO) are constructed via anion doping and carbon confinement engineering. The three-dimensional crosslinked carbon network composed of the nitrogen-doped carbon support derived from polyacrylic acid (PAA) and reduced graphene enhances the electronic conductivity, provides abundant channels for ion/electron transfer, ensures the structure integrity, and alleviates the agglomeration, pulverization and volume change of active material during the chemical reactions. Moreover, the introduction of S into iron selenides induces a large number of Se vacancies and regulates the electron density around iron atoms, synergistically improving the conductivity of the material and reducing the Na+ diffusion barrier. Based on the aforementioned features, the as-synthesized Vₛₑ-Fe₃Se₄₋ₓSₓ/FeSe₂₋ₓSₓ@NSC@rGO electrode possesses excellent electrochemical properties, exhibiting the satisfactory specific capacity of 630.1 mA h g−¹ after 160 cycles at 0.5 A/g and the reversible capacity of 319.8 mA h g−¹ after 500 cycles at 3 A/g with the low-capacity attenuation of 0.016 % per cycle. This investigation provides a feasible approach to develop high-performance

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (2022NSFSC0222) and Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2023NSFSC0439).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lam, Dr Koko

Creator Roles

Lam, K.: Resources, Validation, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Wang, P., Chen, Y., Liao, X., Lam, K., and Lin, D.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0021-9797
• ISSN (Online): 1095-7103
• Published Online: 13 November 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 655:748-759
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license