One Versatile Route to Three‐Dimensional Graphene Wrapped Metal Cyanide Aerogels for Enhanced Sodium Ion Storage

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal 2017-06, Vol.23 (35), p.8358-8363
• Main Authors: Bu, Fanxing, Feng, Xiaoxiang, Jiang, Tiancai, Shakir, Imran, Xu, Yuxi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerogels; Architecture; Batteries; Battery cycles; Catalysis; Chemical composition; Chemistry; Cyanides; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; encapsulated structure; Energy storage; Graphene; Integration; Ion storage; metal cyanides; Metals; Ostwald ripening; prussian blue; Sodium; Sodium-ion batteries; sodium-ion battery; Structural stability; three-dimensional graphene
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.201700742

Facile and controllable integration of metal cyanides (MCs) into three‐dimensional graphene (3DG) with advantageous structures is of fundamental importance for the development of superior MC‐based electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage and catalysis. Here a facile and versatile spatially‐confined Ostwald ripening strategy was developed to synthesize a series of 3DG wrapped MC aerogels with different compositions, size, and structure based on the chemical instability of MC in the reaction system. Remarkably, the integration of Prussian blue (PB) into 3DG, with such unique architecture, largely improves the rate performance and long‐term cycling stability of PB as a cathode material for sodium ion batteries. That′s a wrap: A facile and versatile spatially‐confined Ostwald ripening strategy was developed, based on the chemical instability of metal cyanides (MCs), to synthesize a series of three‐dimensional graphene (3DG) wrapped MC aerogels, which were evaluated as high‐performance cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries with significantly improved rate performance and cycling stability.