High-performance Sb2S3/Sb anode materials for Li-ion batteries

•A facile method for synthesizing the porous Sb2S3/Sb composites is reported.•The electrochemical properties surpass the reported Sb2S3-based li-ion anodes.•The synthesis method is applicable to fabricate other chalcogenide electrodes.

In this study, we report a facile and novel method for preparing the porous Sb2S3/Sb composite. When the as-synthesized electrode is applied as an anode for lithium ion battery, it exhibits good cycling stability and rate capability. The capacity of the Sb2S3/Sb composite at a current density of 1.0 A g−1 for the 200th cycle is 387 mAh g−1. Even when the current density is 10 A g−1, the electrode still keeps a capacity of 250 mAh g−1. To the best of our knowledge, the attractive electrochemical properties are much more distinguished than the Sb2S3-based anodes for li-ion batteries published to date. In addition, the simple synthesis method is applicable to the fabrication of a variety of chalcogenide electrode materials for batteries.