Biomimetic Synthesis of Polydopamine Coated ZnFe(2)O(4) Composites as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

[Image: see text] Metal oxides as anode materials for lithium storage suffer from poor cycling stability due to their conversion mechanisms. Here, we report an efficient biomimetic method to fabricate a conformal coating of conductive polymer on ZnFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles, which shows outstanding electrochemical performance as anode material for lithium storage. Polydopamine (PDA) film, a bionic ionic permeable film, was successfully coated on the surfaces of ZnFe(2)O(4) particles by the self-polymerization of dopamine in the presence of an alkaline buffer solution. The thickness of PDA coating layer was tunable by controlling the reaction time, and the obtained ZnFe(2)O(4)/PDA sample with 8 nm coating layer exhibited an outstanding electrochemical performance in terms of cycling stability and rate capability. ZnFe(2)O(4)/PDA composites delivered an initial discharge capacity of 2079 mAh g(–1) at 1 A g(–1) and showed a minimum capacity decay after 150 cycles. Importantly, the coating layer improved the rate capability of composites compared to that of its counterpart, the bare ZnFe(2)O(4) particle materials. The outstanding electrochemical performance was because of the buffering and protective effects of the PDA coating layer, which could be a general protection strategy for electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries.