Controllable Synthesis of Peapod-like Sb@C and Corn-like C@Sb Nanotubes for Sodium Storage

Abstract

Antimony (Sb) is regarded as an attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity of 660 mAh g–1. Combining Sb with carbonaceous materials has been considered as an effective way to resolve the serious volume expansion issues. Sb/C composites mainly consist of two types, that is, Sb confined inside a carbon matrix and Sb deposited on the surface of a carbon matrix, and both have shown superior sodium storage performance. However, which structure is more beneficial for achieving high electrochemical performance is still unclear. In this work, peapod-like Sb@C and corn-like C@Sb nanotubes are synthesized via a nanoconfined galvanic replacement reaction and used as model materials for sodium storage to explore the above issue. When evaluated as anode materials for SIBs, the peapod-like Sb@C shows a higher rate capability and a significantly better long-term cycling stability compared to those of the corn-like C@Sb. Electrochemical analysis reveals that the peapod-like Sb@C exhibits faster Na+ and electron transport kinetics and higher proportions of surface capacitive contributions. These results demonstrate the structural superiority of the nanoconfined structure and provide valuable information for the rational design and construction of Sb-based anode materials for high-performance electrochemical energy storage.

Insight into Nickel‐Cobalt Oxysulfide Nanowires as Advanced Anode for Sodium‐Ion Capacitors

“…[ 5 ] These voids should be advantageous for accommodating the volume expansion during the sodiation/desodiation processes. [ 24 ] The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image (Figure 1e) again reveals the core‐shell‐like structure of NCOS. According to the high‐resolution TEM (HRTEM) image (Figure 1f), the nanoparticles dispersed in the inner region of NCOS nanowire are highly crystalline with the size of about 10 nm, while the outer shell is an obvious layer with a thickness of ≈30 nm.…”

Rational Design of Sb@C@TiO2 Triple‐Shell Nanoboxes for High‐Performance Sodium‐Ion Batteries

“…To address these issues, many strategies have been proposed, such as designing new nanostructures (e.g., Sb nanotubes, [39] antimonene, [40,41] and nanoporous Sb [42][43][44] ), forming Sb-based intermetallics (e.g., SbSn, [45][46][47][48] SbNi, [49,50] and SbBi [51,52] ) and constructing protective layers (e.g., TiO 2 , [53][54][55] Co(OH) 2 , [56] and carbon [57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] ). Among these approaches, constructing a protective layer has been regarded as the most effective way to solve the volume expansion problems.…”

Enhanced Sodium Storage Performance of Co7Se8 Enabled Through In Situ Formation of a Nanoporous Architecture

“…[26][27][28][29] Besides the improved electronic conductivity, carbon coating also inclined to prevent particle aggregation and pulverization. [30,31] In addition, introducing a porous structure into the composite may be another effective way to stabilize the cycle performance. For example, Jeong et al reported that compared with the bulk material that prepared by the same method, the porous sample synthesized in situ by removing the template in the composite was able to release severe mechanical stress during the charge-discharge process, accelerate the penetration of electrolyte, and provide abundant reactive sites.…”

“…Combining the selenide anode materials with carbon materials is an effective way of buffering the volume expansions during the insertion procedure [26–29] . Besides the improved electronic conductivity, carbon coating also inclined to prevent particle aggregation and pulverization [30,31] . In addition, introducing a porous structure into the composite may be another effective way to stabilize the cycle performance.…”