Urchinlike ZnS Microspheres Decorated with Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon: A Superior Anode Material for Lithium and Sodium Storage

Urchinlike ZnS microspheres decorated with nitrogen‐doped carbon (ZnS@NC) were fabricated by a facile two‐step method in which urchinlike ZnS microspheres were coated with polydopamine and then calcined in an inert gas atmosphere. When employed as the anode material for lithium‐ion batteries and sodium ion batteries, ZnS@NC exhibits a reversible lithium‐storage capacity of 690 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and a reversible sodium‐storage capacity of 460 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles at 200 mA g−1.The ZnS@NC electrode shows a high reversible lithium‐storage capacity of 520 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles and a high reversible sodium‐storage capacity of 380 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles even at a current density of 1 A g−1. The superior electrochemical performance could be ascribed to structural merits of the urchinlike ZnS microspheres and synergistic effects between ZnS and polydopamine‐derived nitrogen‐doped carbon. The lithium‐ and sodium‐storage capacities of urchinlike ZnS@NC microspheres are in the top rank in comparison with those reported in other studies. Spiky electrodes: Urchinlike ZnS microspheres decorated with nitrogen‐doped carbon (ZnS@NC) were fabricated by a facile two‐step method. As the anode material for lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries (see figure), ZnS@NC exhibits a reversible lithium‐storage capacity of 690 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g−1 and a reversible sodium‐storage capacity of 460 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles at 200 mA g−1.