Facile synthesis 2D hierarchical structure of ultrahigh nitrogen-doped porous carbon graphene nanosheets as high-efficiency lithium-ion battery anodes

Ultrahigh N-doped porous carbon graphene nanosheets (NPC@GNS) with two-dimensional (2D) multilayer sandwich framework are elaborately designed from ZIF-8 nanoparticles in situ grown on graphene oxide (GO) with 2-methyimidazole and polyvinyl pyrrolidone added as nitrogen precursor through a facile one-step fast pyrolysis and explored in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). As the process-enhanced anode material, the NPC@GNS provide a high capacity of 906.6 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, and an average capacity of 378.2 mAh g−1 after an extremely long cycling durability over 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. It is worth noting that the superior electrochemical performance of the NPC@GNS electrode as the anode for LIBs confirms the reliability of the sufficient “point and plane” 2D sandwich framework, and a portion of the micropores and a large number of preferred mesoporous channels help to facilitate rapid charge transfer, which indicates that NPC@GNS is a vibrant material that plays a key role in contributing to the application in future energy storage. •A simple nitrogen-doped sandwich structure was synthesized in situ.•The preferred mesoporous structure benefits the diffusion of ions and transportation of electrons.•The composite showed excellent cycle stability, rate performance and high specific capacity.