Frontiers in Chemistry (Jun 2020)

Carbon Fibers Embedded With Iron Selenide (Fe3Se4) as Anode for High-Performance Sodium and Potassium Ion Batteries

  • Asif Mahmood,
  • Zeeshan Ali,
  • Hassina Tabassum,
  • Aftab Akram,
  • Waseem Aftab,
  • Rashad Ali,
  • Muhammad Waqas Khan,
  • Muhammad Waqas Khan,
  • Suraj Loomba,
  • Ahmed Alluqmani,
  • Muhammad Adil Riaz,
  • Muhammad Yousaf,
  • Muhammad Yousaf,
  • Nasir Mahmood

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2020.00408
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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The development of sodium and potassium ion batteries (SIBs/KIBs) has seen tremendous growth in recent years due to their promising properties as a potential replacement for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we report ultrafine iron selenide (Fe3Se4) nanoparticles embedded into one-dimensional (1D) carbon fibers (Fe3Se4@CFs) as a potential candidate for SIBs/KIBs. The Fe-based metal-organic framework particles (MOFP) are used as a Fe source to obtain highly dispersed Fe3Se4 nanoparticles in the product. The Fe3Se4@CF consisted of ultrafine particles of Fe3Se4 with an average particle size of ~10 nm loaded into CFs with an average diameter of 300 nm. The product exhibited excellent specific activity of ~439 and ~435 mAh/g at the current density of 50 mA/g for SIBs and KIBs, respectively. In addition, the as-prepared anodes (Fe3Se4@CFs) exhibited excellent capacity retention up to several hundred cycles (700 cycles for SIBs and 300 cycles for KIBs). The high activity and excellent stability of the developed electrodes make Fe3Se4@CFs a promising electrode for next-generation batteries.

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