Precise solid-phase synthesis of CoFe@FeOx nanoparticles for efficient polysulfide regulation in lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries

Abstract Complex metal nanoparticles distributed uniformly on supports demonstrate distinctive physicochemical properties and thus attract a wide attention for applications. The commonly used wet chemistry methods display limitations to achieve the nanoparticle structure design and uniform dispersion simultaneously. Solid-phase synthesis serves as an interesting strategy which can achieve the fabrication of complex metal nanoparticles on supports. Herein, the solid-phase synthesis strategy is developed to precisely synthesize uniformly distributed CoFe@FeO x core@shell nanoparticles. Fe atoms are preferentially exsolved from CoFe alloy bulk to the surface and then be carburized into a Fe x C shell under thermal syngas atmosphere, subsequently the formed Fe x C shell is passivated by air, obtaining CoFe@FeO x with a CoFe alloy core and a FeO x shell. This strategy is universal for the synthesis of MFe@FeO x (M = Co, Ni, Mn). The CoFe@FeO x exhibits bifunctional effect on regulating polysulfides as the separator coating layer for Li-S and Na-S batteries. This method could be developed into solid-phase synthetic systems to construct well distributed complex metal nanoparticles.