Carbon Fibers Embedded With Iron Selenide (Fe(3)Se(4)) as Anode for High-Performance Sodium and Potassium Ion Batteries

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 (Fe(3)Se(4)) nanoparticles embedded into one-dimensional (1D) carbon fibers (Fe(3)Se(4)@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 Fe(3)Se(4) nanoparticles in the product. The Fe(3)Se(4)@CF consisted of ultrafine particles of Fe(3)Se(4) 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 (Fe(3)Se(4)@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 Fe(3)Se(4)@CFs a promising electrode for next-generation batteries.