Plate-like carbon-supported Fe3C nanoparticles with superior electrochemical performance

Iron-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with higher theoretical capacity, natural abundance and cheapness have received considerable attention, but they still suffer from the fast capacity fading. To address this issue, we report a facile synthesis of plate-like carbon-supported Fe3C nanoparticles through chemical blowing/carbonization under calcination. The ultrafine Fe3C nanoparticles are prone to be oxidized when exposing in air; thus, Fe3C/C with mild oxidization and the fully oxidized product of Fe2O3/C are successfully prepared by controlling the oxidization condition. When applied as an anode material in LIB, the Fe3C/C electrode demonstrates excellent cycle stability (826 mAh.g(-1) after 120 cycles under 500 mA.g(-1)) and rate performance (410.6 mAh.g(-1) under 2 A.g(-1)), compared with the Fe2O3/C counterpart. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the synergetic effect of the Fe3C with mild oxidation and the unique hierarchical structure of plate-like carbon decorated with Fe3C catalyst. More importantly, this work may offer new approaches to synthesize other transition metal (e.g., Co, Ni)-based anode material by replacing the precursor ingredient. Graphic abstract

Automated summary

The synthesis of Fe3C/C electrode material with excellent cycle stability and rate performance was achieved through chemical preparation, showing better electrochemical performance compared to the Fe2O3/C counterpart, attributed to the mild oxidation of Fe3C and the unique hierarchical structure.