Carbon encapsulated maricite NaFePO4 nanoparticles as cathode material for sodium-ion batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been recognized as one type of the most potential technologies for low-cost rechargeable batteries owing to the abundant resource of sodium. Herein, we present nanosized maricite NaFePO4 nanoparticles encapsulated within carbon ([email protected]) via a sol-gel method. The resultant [email protected] nanocomposite as cathode material for SIBs exhibits a high capacity retention of more than 80% after 50 cycles at 0.1C and good rate capacity. The good electrochemical performances are attributed to the NaFePO4 nanoparticles and the conductive carbon coating, which facilitate the fast access of Na+ ion and electron during the charging/discharging processes, respectively. Our result provides an alternative to prepare promising cathode material for SIBs toward practical application.