Binary iron sulfides as anode materials for rechargeable batteries: Crystal structures, syntheses, and electrochemical performance

Effective utilization of energy requires the storage and conversion device with high ability. For well-developed lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and highly developing sodium ion batteries (SIBs), this ability especially denotes to high energy and power densities. It's believed that the capacity of a full cell is mainly contributed by anode materials. So, to develop inexpensive anode materials with high capacity are meaningful for various rechargeable batteries' better applications. Iron is a productive element in the crust, and its oxides, sulfides, fluorides, and oxygen acid salts are extensively investigated as electrode materials for batteries. In view of the importance of electrode materials containing iron, this review summarizes the recent achievements on various binary iron sulfides (FeS, FeS2, Fe3S4, and Fe7S8)-type electrodes for batteries. The contents are mainly focused on their crystal structures, synthetic methods, and electrochemical performance. Moreover, the challenges and some improvement strategies are also discussed.