Exploration of amorphous hollow FeOOH@C nanosphere on energy storage for sodium ion batteries

Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have enjoyed a high profile in recent years and gradually been commercialized to supplement the lithium-ion batteries system. However, the large volume expansion of anode materials within discharging and low electrical conductivity hinder the application of SIBs. In this work, a FeOOH@C composite was synthesized with the use of hydrothermal method and pyrolyzing of polydopamine. The amorphous FeOOH exhibits a hollow spherical structure to offer free space for buffering the volumetric variation. Furthermore, the outer carbon served as a protective shell could maintain the sphere integrity and enhance the electrical conductivity. Hence, benefiting from the achieved synergy of the hollow architecture, amorphous structure and carbon shell, the composite presented a long cycle life (316 mA h g(-1) after 500 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1) and 234.5 mA h g(-1) after 400 cycles at 2 A g(-1)) and high-rate performance (180 mA h g(-1) at 5 A g(-1)), revealing a potential to be a promising candidate for electrode material of SIBs. (C) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The FeOOH@C composite synthesized in this study showed good cycling life and high-rate performance, indicating its potential to be a candidate for electrode material of sodium ion batteries.