Plate-like carbon-supported Fe_(3)C nanoparticles with superior electrochemical performance

Iron-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)with higher theoretical capacity,natural abundance and cheapness have received considerable attention,but they still suffer from the fast capacity fading.To address this issue,we report a facile synthesis of plate-like carbonsupported Fe_(3)C nanoparticles through chemical blowing/carbonization under calcination.The ultrafine Fe_(3)C nanoparticles are prone to be oxidized when exposing in air;thus,Fe_(3)C/C with mild oxidization and the fully oxidized product of Fe_(2)O_(3)/C are successfully prepared by controlling the oxidization condition.When applied as an anode material in LIB,the Fe_(3)C/C electrode demonstrates excellent cycle stability(826 mAh·g^(-1)after 120 cycles under 500 mA·g^(-1))and rate performance(410.6 mAh·g^(-1) under 2 A·g^(-1)),compared with the Fe_(2)O_(3)/C counterpart.The enhanced electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the synergetic effect of the Fe_(3)C with mild oxidation and the unique hierarchical structure of plate-like carbon decorated with Fe_(3)C catalyst.More importantly,this work may offer new approaches to synthesize other transition metal(e.g.,Co,Ni)-based anode material by replacing the precursor ingredient.