Nanoarchitectured Fe3C@N-Doped C/FeVO4 as High-Performance Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Ferric vanadate exhibits potential as an attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to the multiple oxidation states of vanadium and natural abundances of iron. However, the design and fabrication of high-performance ferric vanadate-based SIB anode materials with unique composite nanostructures are still challenging. Herein, a facile self-template method is reported to synthesize 1D nanostructured Fe3C@N-doped C/FeVO4 (Fe3C@NC/FeVO4) anode materials by the combination of morphology regulation with hybrid composite construction, for the first time. To this end, a 1D Fe, N-doped carbon nanotube (FeNC) is used as a template, followed by etching and re-growth to obtain the 1D Fe3C@N-doped C/FeVO4 nanostructure. The introduction of Fe3C can improve its electronic conductivity and enhance capacitive behavior. Additionally, the 1D nanostructure can effectively shorten the ions transport path and alleviate volume expansion during the charge-discharge processes. With these advantages, the SIBs using such anodes show a remarkable rate performance with a capacity of 325.4 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 A g(-1), 150.6 mAh g(-1) at 5 A g(-1,) and excellent cycling stability with a reversible capacity of 139.6 mAh g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) after 1500 cycles. This work offers a new strategy for the future development of SIBs with ferric vanadate-based anode.