Direct growth of FePO4/graphene hybrids for Li-ion and Na-ion storage

•FePO4 nanospheres were directly grown on the graphene-assembled scaffolds.•A simple and environmentally friendly RAAP-induced growth method was used.•Such hybrids present a uniform morphology and high conductivity of 3.2 S cm− 1.•Such hybrids exhibit superior Li-ion and Na-ion storage performance.

An environmentally friendly method has been developed for the direct growth of FePO4 nanospheres on graphene nanosheets with uniform morphology and high conductivity of 3.2 S cm− 1. The nanoassembled FePO4/graphene hybrids exhibit superior Li-ion and Na-ion storage performance, e.g. high rate capability and good capacity retention upon cycling.