N-Doped Carbon Encapsulated FeV₂S₄/Fe Nanorods as Fast-Charging Anodes for All-Climate Sodium-Ion Storage

Abstract

FeV₂S₄ holds promise as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of its large interlayer spacing, high storage capacity, and metallic conductivity. However, the significant volume expansion and polysulfides dissolution during cycling usually lead to material pulverization and performance degradation. Herein, the thin N-doped carbon (NC) layer encapsulated FeV₂S₄/Fe nanorods (FeV₂S₄/Fe@NC) have been constructed via the multi-step strategy. Under the synergistic effect of outer NC and inner FeV₂S₄/Fe, the optimized FeV₂S₄/Fe@NC anode prepared at 850 °C demonstrates fast-charging sodium storage capabilities (525 mAh g⁻¹/2 A g⁻¹/400 cycles and 281 mAh g⁻¹/15 A g⁻¹). Remarkably, except for 25 °C, such well-chosen anode can easily run at extreme temperatures, demonstrating excellent all-climate rate capabilities (135 mAh g⁻¹/5 A g⁻¹ at 0 °C and 289 mAh g⁻¹/15 A g⁻¹ at 40 °C) and cyclic stability (371 mAh g⁻¹/0.5 A g⁻¹/200 cycles at 0 °C and 529.2 mAh g⁻¹/2 A g⁻¹/300 cycles at 40 °C). Additionally, the components of SEI film, electrochemical kinetics, theoretical calculations, and various in-situ/ex-situ characterizations confirm the rapid charge transfer, highly efficient Na⁺ diffusion, and conversion-based reaction mechanism in FeV₂S₄/Fe@NC. Furthermore, the full cells consisted of FeV₂S₄/Fe@NC anodes and reduced graphene oxide modified Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ (Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃@rGO) cathodes realize satisfied electrochemical performances (242 mAh g⁻¹ over 140 cycles at 1 A g⁻¹). This work offers a rational synthesis approach for designing high-performance dual-metal chalcogenide-based anodes for sodium-ion storage.

Keywords

all-climate / anode materials / fast-charging / FeV₂S₄/Fe@NC / sodium-ion storage

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2026 The Author(s). Energy & Environmental Materials published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Zhengzhou University.