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Embedding ZnSe nanodots in nitrogen-doped hollow carbon architectures for superior lithium storage

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Abstract

Transition metal chalcogenides represent a class of the most promising alternative electrode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacities. However, they suffer from large volume expansion, particle agglomeration, and low conductivity during charge/discharge processes, leading to unsatisfactory energy storage performance. In order to address these issues, we rationally designed three-dimensional (3D) hybrid composites consisting of ZnSe nanodots uniformly confined within a N-doped porous carbon network (ZnSe ND@N-PC) obtained via a convenient pyrolysis process. When used as anodes for LIBs, the composites exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance, with a high reversible capacity (1,134 mA·h·g−1 at a current density of 600 mA·g−1 after 500 cycles) and excellent rate capability (696 and 474 mA·h·g−1 at current densities of 6.4 and 12.8 A·g−1, respectively). The significantly improved lithium storage performance can be attributed to the 3D architecture of the hybrid composites, which not only mitigated the internal mechanical stress induced by the volume change and formed a 3D conductive network during cycling, but also provided a large reactive area and reduced the lithium diffusion distance. The strategy reported here may open a new avenue for the design of other multifunctional composites towards high-performance energy storage devices.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51672049, 51671058, and 51571063), the Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (No. 15YF1401300), Research Grant for Talent Introduction of Fudan University, China (No. JJH2021103) and Thousand Youth Talents Program of China (Recruitment Program of Global Youth Experts).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Ziliang Chen, Renbing Wu, Hao Wang, Yun Song, Feilong Wu, Fang Fang & Dalin Sun

  2. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Kelvin H. L. Zhang

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  1. Ziliang Chen
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  2. Renbing Wu
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  3. Hao Wang
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  7. Fang Fang
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  8. Dalin Sun
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Correspondence to Renbing Wu or Dalin Sun.

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Chen, Z., Wu, R., Wang, H. et al. Embedding ZnSe nanodots in nitrogen-doped hollow carbon architectures for superior lithium storage. Nano Res. 11, 966–978 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1709-x

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