Core–Shell Bimetallic Carbide Nanoparticles Confined in a Three-Dimensional N-Doped Carbon Conductive Network for Efficient Lithium Storage

Abstract

Carbides represent a class of functional materials with unique properties and increasing importance. However, the harsh conditions in conventional synthetic strategies impede subtle control over size and morphology of carbides, which is highly imperative for their practical applications. Herein, we report a facile, simple approach to prepare porous Co3ZnC/N-doped carbon hybrid nanospheres. In this structure, the Co3ZnC nanoparticles exhibit a core-shell structure and they are uniformly confined in N-doped carbon conductive networks forming rather uniform nanospheres. The hybrid nanospheres have a specific surface area as high as 170.5 m(2) g(-1). When evaluated as an anode material for lithium ion batteries, they show an excellent lithium storage performance, which can be attributed to the combined effect of the core-shell Co3ZnC nanoparticles, the pore structure and the highly conductive and elastic N-doped carbon networks. This work provides an efficient route for the facile production of nanoscale carbides with desirable manipulation over size and morphology for many of important applications.

From graphite to porous graphene-like nanosheets for high rate lithium-ion batteries

“…The diameter of the semicircle in the medium frequency region of the PGS-2-1000 is considerably smaller than that of EG, indicating a lower charge-transfer resistance of the PGS-2-1000 electrode, which is attributed to the easy accessibility and transportation of the electrolyte in the loose, packed, and porous nanosheet structures. The PGS-2-1000 anode exhibits a substantially better Li storage performance than that reported in previous studies and obtained by using expandable graphite, natural graphite, and graphene as LIB anodes [70][71][72]. The excellent conductivity of PGS-2-1000 can generate excellent high-rate performance and superior cycle lifetime.…”

Carbon-Anchored MnO Nanosheets as an Anode for High-Rate and Long-Life Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…If the freeze-drying process was not used, the carbon obtained directly from the carbonizing of F127 exhibits an irregular bulk morphology with rare sheets ( Figure S1 32 The other two obvious peaks at 1321.5 and 1592.0 cm -1 can be ascribed to typical D and G bands of carbon, respectively. [33][34][35][36] Besides, in order to further understand the interaction between MnO and carbon, the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectrum was applied to investigate the electronic structure of the typical MnO/C hybrid (Figure 2c). Compared to that of pure MnO sample, the Mn K-edge XANES spectrum of the typical MnO/C hybrid exhibits a decreased peak intensity at the Mn site, confirming the existence of interaction between the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 9 MnO and carbon.…”

“…37 In addition, the firm connection can also alleviate the volume change during cycling and facilitate the stabilization of SEI film on the MnO surface. 13,17,35,37 In a word, the firm connection between MnO and carbon layer will be beneficial for the related electrochemical 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 those of manganese oxides with higher oxidation states, 14 indicating an ever-increasing capacity and Li + reactivity. 14,42 XRD measurement was also used to understand the transformation process of the typical MnO/C electrode during the discharge-charge process.…”

Decorating nanoporous ZIF-67-derived NiCo2O4 shells on a Co3O4 nanowire array core for battery-type electrodes with enhanced energy storage performance

“…[4][5][6] Through simply carbonizing MOFs in vacuum or annealing in air, nanoporous carbon or their corresponding metal oxides could be obtained, and these porous MOF-derived materials have high surface area that is not able to realize in traditional methods; therefore they always exhibit outstanding performances. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Recently, MOFs have been used as good templates for synthesis of metal oxides/hydroxides with various structures including hollow nanocages, nanoframes and multishelled microboxes. [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] For example, Co-containing ZIF-67 templates were converted into Co 3 O 4 /NiCo 2 O 4 double-shelled nanocages by hydrolysis reaction and post-annealing treatment, the targeted nanocages evaluated as electrodes for pseudocapacitors had shown much more superior electrochemical properties to those of general Co 3 O 4 nanomaterials.…”