Nano-Sized ZnSe with Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Anchored on Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Storage

Zinc selenide (ZnSe) materials have shown promising application potential in the field of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, leveraging their cost-effectiveness, facile synthesis, and flexibility of morphological control. In this work, a novel composite of ZnSe and nitrogen-doped carbon/carbon nanotubes (ZnSe/N-C@CNT), with CNTs as the core and nano-sized ZnSe with nitrogen-doped carbon as the shell, was successfully prepared. The integration of carbon nanotubes with ZnSe not only boosts electrical conductivity but also provides mechanical strength, effectively suppressing the typical volume changes of the electrode material. Moreover, the nanotubular structure expands the specific surface area, thereby enriching active sites, and effectively facilitates Li⁺/Na⁺ diffusion in the electrode materials. The ZnSe/N-C@CNT anode delivers superior discharge capacity and excellent cycling stability in lithium-ion batteries (373.7 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles at 0.1 A g⁻¹) and sodium-ion batteries (324.5 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g⁻¹). This research pioneers an innovative approach to optimizing nanostructures for transition metal selenide anode materials.