Gas-phase construction of holey exfoliated graphite supported NiS nanoparticles with superior electrochemical performance for sodium-ion batteries

Abstract Exfoliated graphite with featured holey structure (HEG) is employed as a new matrix material for sodium-ion batteries. A gas-phase strategy is designed to simultaneously realize the uniform dispersion of NiS nanoparticles and holey surface texture of EG. Benefitted from the elevated charge transfer efficiency and accelerated ion diffusion kinetics, the well-constructed NiS/HEG electrode exhibits substantially enhanced rate performance (high capacity retention of 56.5% at 2 A g−1). Moreover, the firm combination between NiS and HEG ensures the favorable cycling stability, where a stable reversible capacity of 157.8 mAh g−1 is well retained after 1000 discharge/charge cycles at 1.0 A g−1.