Grid-Like Structured Sb@DNC Anode by Self-Sacrificial Etching for Fast and Durable Sodium Storage

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Alloying-type materials offer high capacity for sodium storage but face challenges with volume expansion and capacity decay.
• Developing stable and high-performance anode materials is crucial for practical sodium-ion battery applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a novel dual-type N-doped carbon-confined antimony nanoparticle (Sb@DNC) anode material.
• To address the capacity decay issue in alloying-type anodes for sodium-ion batteries through structural engineering.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Sb@DNC using a self-sacrificial etching strategy.
• Characterization of the material's structure and electrochemical performance.
• In/ex situ technologies to investigate the sodium storage mechanism.

Main Results:

• The Sb@DNC electrode demonstrated excellent cycling stability over 2400 cycles at 1.0 A g⁻¹.
• High-rate performance was achieved, with a capacity of 331.0 mAh g⁻¹ at 10.0 A g⁻¹.
• The dual-type N-doped carbon matrix effectively mitigated volume changes and improved ion/electron transport.

Conclusions:

• The Sb@DNC anode material exhibits superior electrochemical performance for sodium-ion batteries.
• Rational structural design is key to overcoming limitations in alloying-type anode materials.
• The developed material shows significant potential for practical sodium-ion battery applications.