Nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulated zinc vanadate polyhedron engineered from a metal–organic framework as a stable anode for alkali ion batteries

Abstract In this work, we fabricated vanadium/zinc metal–organic frameworks (V/Zn-MOFs) derived from self-assembled metal organic frameworks, to further disperse ultrasmall Zn2VO4 nanoparticles and encapsulate them in a nitrogen-doped nanocarbon network (ZVO/NC) under in situ pyrolysis. When employed as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, ZVO/NC delivers a high reversible capacity (807 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1) and excellent rate performance (372 mAh g−1 at 8.0 A g−1). Meanwhile, when used in sodium-ion batteries, it exhibits long-term cycling stability (7000 cycles with 145 mAh g−1 at 2.0 A g−1). Additionally, when employed in potassium-ion batteries, it also shows outstanding electrochemical performance with reversible capacities of 264 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 140 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 for 1000 cycles. The mechanism by which the pseudocapacitive behaviour of ZVO/NC enhances battery performance under a suitable electrolyte was probed, which offers useful enlightenment for the potential development of anodes of alkali-ion batteries. The performance of Zn2VO4 as an anode for SIBs/PIBs was investigated for the first time. This work provides a new horizon in the design ZVO/NC as a promising anode material owing to the intrinsically synergic effects of mixed metal species and the multiple valence states of V.