InSb: A Stable Cycling Anode Material Enables Fast Charging of Li-Ion Batteries at Sub-zero Temperatures

Abstract

In this work we surprisingly find that the reaction mechanism, Li-ion diffusion kinetics, and polycrystalline sphalerite structure of the InSb anode materials remain unchanged during the charging and discharging process at both room and sub-zero temperatures. The sputtered pure InSb film anodes can stably cycle more than 800 times at 1 A/g and deliver a high capacity of 534.6 mAh/g at 30 °C. With a high current rate of 2 A/g at −40 °C, a capacity of 402.8 mAh/g can be maintained. For the ball-milled InSb/graphite composite, a capacity of 434.3 mAh/g at 1 A/g can remain very stable for more than 700 cycles at both 30 °C and −50 °C. The 2500 mAh soft pack cells, which are made entirely from the commercialization process and successfully run long-term at −30 °C, also demonstrate the potential of InSb anodes for commercial applications.