Enhanced electrochemical stability of carbon-coated antimony nanoparticles with sodium alginate binder for sodium-ion batteries

The poor cycling stability of antimony during a repeated sodium ion insertion and desertion process is the key issue, which leads to an unsatisfactory application as an anode material in a sodium-ion battery. Addressed at this, we report a facile two-step method to coat antimony nanoparticles with an ultrathin carbon layer of few nanometers (denoted Sb@C NPs) for sodium-ion battery anode application. This carbon layer could buffer the volume change of antimony in the charge-discharge process and improve the battery cycle performance. Meanwhile, this carbon coating could also enhance the interfacial stability by firmly connecting the sodium alginate binders through its oxygen-rich surface. Benefitted from these advantages, an improved initial discharge capacity (788.5 mA h g−1) and cycling stability capacity (553 mA h g−1 after 50 times cycle) have been obtained in a battery using Sb@C NPs as anode materials at 50 mA g−1.