A confined "microreactor" synthesis strategy to three dimensional nitrogen doped graphene for high-performance sodium ion battery anodes

作者:Li, Jiajie; Zhang, Yumin; Gao, Tangling; Han, Jiecai; Wang, Xianjie; Hultman, Benjamin; Xu, Ping*; Zhang, Zhihua; Wu, Gang*; Song, Bo*
来源:Journal of Power Sources, 2018, 378: 105-111.
DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.12.028

摘要

In virtue of abundant sodium resources, sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have been regarded as one of the most promising alternatives for large-scale energy storage applications. However, the absence of a suitable anode material makes it difficult to realize these applications. Here, we demonstrate an effective synthesis strategy of using a microreactor consisting of melamine fiber (inside) and graphene oxide (GO, outside) to fabricate three dimensional (3D) nitrogen doped (N-doped) graphene as high-performance anode materials for sodium ion batteries. Through a controlled pyrolysis, the inside melamine fiber and the outside GO layer has been converted into N-doped graphene and reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) respectively, and thus the "microreactor" is transformed into interconnected 3D N-doped graphene structures. Such highly desired 3D graphene structures show reversible sodium storage capacities up to similar to 305 mA h g(-1) after 500 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g(-1) and promising long cycling stability with a stable capacity of similar to 198 mA h g(-1) at 5 A g(-1) after 5000 cycles. The high capacity and superior durability in combination with the facile synthesis procedure of the 3D graphene structure make it a promising anode material for SIBs and other energy storage applications.