Biomimetic Synthesis of Polydopamine Coated ZnFe2O4 Composites as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Hongyun Yue; Ting Du; Qiuxian Wang; Zhenpu Shi; Hongyu Dong; Zhaoxia Cao; Yun Qiao; Yanhong Yin; Ruimin Xing; Shuting Yang

doi:10.1021/acsomega.7b01752

Biomimetic Synthesis of Polydopamine Coated ZnFe₂O₄ Composites as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

ACS Omega. 2018 Mar 31;3(3):2699-2705. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.7b01752. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

Authors

Hongyun Yue^{1

2

3}, Ting Du^{1

3}, Qiuxian Wang^{2

3}, Zhenpu Shi^{1

3}, Hongyu Dong^{1

2

3}, Zhaoxia Cao^{1

2

3}, Yun Qiao^{1

2

3}, Yanhong Yin^{1

2

3}, Ruimin Xing⁴, Shuting Yang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, Henan, P. R. China.
² Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Motive Power and Key Materials, Henan Battery Research Institute, Xinxiang 453007, P. R. China.
³ National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Motive Power and Key Materials, Xinxiang 453007, Henan, P. R. China.
⁴ Henan Key Laboratory of Polyoxometalate Chemistry, Institute of Molecular and Crystal Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, P. R. China.

Abstract

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 ZnFe₂O₄ 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 ZnFe₂O₄ 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 ZnFe₂O₄/PDA sample with 8 nm coating layer exhibited an outstanding electrochemical performance in terms of cycling stability and rate capability. ZnFe₂O₄/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 ZnFe₂O₄ 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.