Designed synthesis of Fe3O4@NC yolk-shell hollow spheres as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Fe3O4 is considered as attractive promising anode material for LIBs due to its high lithium storage capacity, abundance, low cost and eco-friendly features. However, the tremendous volume expansion during the lithiation process induce pulverization of Fe3O4, lead to rapid capacity loss and poor cycling stability, which seriously hinder the practical application in LIBs. Here, unique Fe3O4@NC yolk-shell hollow spheres are designed and application in LIBs. This unique structure combines the advantage of hollow and yolk-shelled structures, which can effectively avoid the volume expansion of Fe3O4 during the lithiation process, and shorten the Li+/electron diffusion pathways. Therefore, the Fe3O4@NC HSs deliver superior cycling and rate performance when evaluated as anode material for LIBs. High reversible capacity of 755.8 mAh g−1 is achieved at 2.0 A g−1 over 500 cycles when application in half cell. Moreover, the Fe3O4@NC HSs||LiFePO4@C full cell exhibit high capacity (456.1 mAh g−1 is retained at 0.2 A g−1 over 50 cycles), outstanding rate capability (325 mAh g−1 is achieved even at 2.0 A g−1) and long-term cycling performance (251.1 mAh g−1 is maintained after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g−1).