Multiple carbon-protected MnO/Fe3C@C composite anode for efficient lithium/sodium-ion storage

Designing and constructing reversible and stable anode materials was vital to lithium/sodium-ion batteries. Here, multiple carbon-protected Mn and Fe based composite anode with three-dimensional cross-linked networks was designed. The MnFe 2 O 4 composite nanoparticles were synthesized via co-precipitation firstly. Then by combining different coating technologies and heat treatment, MnO/Fe 3 C with stable carbon doped (MnO/Fe 3 C@C 3 ) composite anode for lithium/sodium-ion storage was prepared. The results showed that MnO/Fe 3 C@C 3 exhibited the excellent reversible capacities of 608.2 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C after 100 cycles and 348.2 mAh g −1 at 10 C after 1500 cycles for lithium-ion battery. MnO/Fe 3 C@C 3 as sodium-ion anode also showed the capacity of 282.4 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C after 100 cycles. The study indicated that MnO/Fe 3 C as active components were produced by the doped carbon participating in redox reaction. In addition, the stable doped carbon was also formed by the binding of graphitic carbon with carbon layers. GITT and EIS tests revealed that the addition of MWCNTs could effectively enhance the ion transport kinetics and further optimize the electrochemical performance. This study highlighted a way to construct the active component with stable doped carbon as anode, which could exhibit the excellent recyclability and electrochemical performance.