Numerous materials have been considered as promising electrode materials for rechargeable batteries; however, developing efficient materials to achieving good cycling performance and high volumetric energy capacity simultaneously remains a great challenge. Considering the appealing properties of iron sulfides, which include low cost, high theoretical capacity, and favorable electrochemical conversion mechanism, in this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of carbon-free microscale Fe1-xS as high-efficiency anode materials for rechargeable batteries by designing hierarchical intertexture architecture. The as-prepared intertexture Fe1-xS microspheres constructed from nanoscale units take advantage of both the long cycle life of nanoscale units and the high tap density (1.13 g cm-3) of the micro-intertexture Fe1-xS. As a result, high capacities of 1089.2 mA h g-1 (1230.8 mA h cm-3) and 624.7 mA h g-1 (705.9 mA h cm-3) were obtained after 100 cycles at 1 A g-1 in Li-ion and Na-ion batteries, respectively, demonstrating one of the best performances for iron sulfide-based electrodes. Even after deep cycling at 20 A g-1, satisfactory capacities could be retained. Related results promote the practical application of metal sulfides as high-capacity electrodes with high rate capability for next-generation rechargeable batteries.
Keywords: carbon-free; electrochemical performance; high tap density; micro-iron sulfide; rechargeable batteries.