Sb₂S₃@PPy Coaxial Nanorods: A Versatile and Robust Host Material for Reversible Storage of Alkali Metal Ions

Intercalating Organic Hybrid Cadmium Antimony Sulfide Nanoparticles into Graphene Oxide Nanosheets for Electrochemical Lithium Storage

Inorganic metal sulfides have received extensive investigation as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, applications of crystalline organic hybrid metal sulfides as anode materials in LIBs are quite rare. In addition, combining the nanoparticles of crystalline organic hybrid metal sulfides with conductive materials is expected to enhance the electrochemical lithium storage performance. Nevertheless, due to the difficulty of harvesting the nanoparticles of crystalline organic hybrid metal sulfides, this approach has never been tried to date. Herein, nanoparticles of a crystalline organic hybrid cadmium antimony sulfide (1,4-DABH2)Cd2Sb2S6 (DCAS) were prepared by a top-down method, including the procedures of solvothermal synthesis, ball milling, and ultrasonic pulverization. Thereafter, the nanoparticles of DCAS with sizes of ∼500 nm were intercalated into graphene oxide nanosheets through a freeze-drying treatment and a DCAS@GO composite was obtained. Compared with the reported Sb2S3- and CdS-based composites, the DCAS@GO composite exhibited superior electrochemical Li+ ion storage performance, including a high capacity of 1075.6 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g-1 and exceptional rate tolerances (646.8 mAh g-1 at 5000 mA g-1). In addition, DCAS@GO can provide a high capacity of 705.6 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 1000 mA g-1. Our research offers a viable approach for preparing the nanoparticles of crystalline organic hybrid metal sulfides and proves that intercalating organic hybrid metal sulfide nanoparticles into GO nanosheets can efficiently boost the electrochemical Li+ ion storage performance.

Understanding the Highly Reversible Potassium Storage of Hollow Ternary (Bi-Sb)2S3@N-C Nanocube

Metal sulfide anodes have aroused much attention in potassium ion batteries (PIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacities, but the sluggish kinetics and inferior cycling performance caused by severe volumetric change and particle pulverization greatly hinder their further development. Herein, robust hollow structure design together with phase structure engineering endow (Bi-Sb)₂S₃@N-C anode with superior (de)potassiation kinetics and excellent electrochemical performances in PIBs. Specifically, in situ X-ray diffraction combined with density functional theory calculations and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicated a fresh reaction mechanism of (Bi-Sb)₂S₃ anode with a distinctive multistep (de)potassiation route along (003) plane of (Bi,Sb) alloy thanks to the Bi-Sb phase regulation in (Bi-Sb)₂S₃ anode, ensuring it with superior reaction kinetics. Moreover, in situ TEM characterization revealed the advantages of the hollow nanostructure with carbon shell, facilitating fast ion transport kinetics and high tolerance of volume change as well as enabling the structural integrity of electrode material during (de)potassiation. As a result, the (Bi-Sb)₂S₃ hollow nanocube with N-doped carbon shell ((Bi-Sb)₂S₃@N-C) delivers a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 66.3%, a great rate performance of 289 mAh g^-1 at 2.0 A g^-1, and an ultralong cycling life (89% retention after 220 cycles at 0.1 A g^-1 and 85% retention after 1600 cycles at 2.0 A g^-1) in PIBs. Furthermore, the full cell of (Bi-Sb)₂S₃@N-C//PTCDA affords a high reversible capacity of 281 mA h g^-1 at 1.0 A g^-1 after 300 cycles. This work combines structural design and in situ techniques, proving a successful nanostructure engineering strategy to rationalize alloy-type electrode materials for PIBs.

Recent progress on Sb- and Bi-based chalcogenide anodes for potassium ion batteries

Potassium ion batteries (PIBs) are potential alternative energy storage systems to lithium ion batteries (LIBs), due to elemental abundance of potassium, low cost and similar working principle to LIBs. Recently, metal chalcogenides (MCs) have gained enormous interests, especially antimony (Sb)-, bismuth (Bi) -based chalcogenides because they were able to undergo alloying/conversion dual mechanism, which can provide higher specific capacity and energy density (K 3 Sb~660 mA h g -1 , K 3 Bi~385 mA h g -1 ). However, several challenges hinder the development of Sb-, Bi-based chalcogenide anode materials for PIBs , such as huge volume expansion during potassiation, unstable solid-electrolyte interface (SEI), slow reaction kinetics, and polychalcogenide-induced shuttle effect . In this review, the current state-of-the-art Sb-, Bi-based chalcogenides are comprehensively summarized, including the reaction mechanism, electrochemical performance, ingenious nanostructures, electrolyte systems, and prospects for future development. This review contributes to understanding the K + storage mechanism and the interaction between active materials and electrolytes, providing guidance and foundation for the design of next-generation high-performance PIBs.

Recent Advances in Antimony Sulfide-Based Nanomaterials for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries: A Mini Review

Recently, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted extensive attention as potential alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the abundance, even distribution, low cost, and environmentally friendly nature of sodium. However, sodium ions are larger than lithium ions so that the anode materials of LIBs are not suitable for SIBs. Therefore, many negative electrode materials have been investigated. Among them, Sb₂S₃-based nanomaterials have gradually become a research focus due to their high theoretical specific capacity, good thermal stability, simple preparation, and low price. In this review, the research progress of Sb₂S₃-based nanomaterials in the SIB field in recent years is summarized, including Sb₂S₃, Sb₂S₃/carbon composites, Sb₂S₃/graphene composites, and Sb₂S₃/M_xS_y composites. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects for the development of Sb₂S₃-based nanomaterials are also put forward. We hope this review will contribute to the design and manufacture of high-performance SIBs and promote its practical application.

Engineering Nanostructured Antimony-Based Anode Materials for Sodium Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered a potential alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage due to their low cost and the large abundance of sodium resources. The search for new anode materials for SIBs has become a vital approach to satisfying the ever-growing demands for better performance with higher energy/power densities, improved safety and a longer cycle life. Recently, antimony (Sb) has been extensively researched as a promising candidate due to its high specific capacity through an alloying/dealloying process. In this review article, we will focus on different categories of the emerging Sb based anode materials with distinct sodium storage mechanisms including Sb, two-dimensional antimonene and antimony chalcogenide (Sb2S3 and Sb2Se3). For each part, we emphasize that the novel construction of an advanced nanostructured anode with unique structures could effectively improve sodium storage properties. We also highlight that sodium storage capability can be enhanced through designing advanced nanocomposite materials containing Sb based materials and other carbonaceous modification or metal supports. Moreover, the recent advances in operando/in-situ investigation of its sodium storage mechanism are also summarized. By providing such a systematic probe, we aim to stress the significance of novel nanostructures and advanced compositing that would contribute to enhanced sodium storage performance, thus making Sb based materials as promising anodes for next-generation high-performance SIBs.

Colloidal Antimony Sulfide Nanoparticles as a High-Performance Anode Material for Li-ion and Na-ion Batteries

To maximize the anodic charge storage capacity of Li-ion and Na-ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs, respectively), the conversion-alloying-type Sb2S3 anode has attracted considerable interest because of its merits of a high theoretical capacity of 946 mAh g-1 and a suitable anodic lithiation/delithiation voltage window of 0.1-2 V vs. Li+/Li. Recent advances in nanostructuring of the Sb2S3 anode provide an effective way of mitigating the challenges of structure conversion and volume expansion upon lithiation/sodiation that severely hinder the Sb2S3 cycling stability. In this context, we report uniformly sized colloidal Sb2S3 nanoparticles (NPs) as a model Sb2S3 anode material for LIBs and SIBs to investigate the effect of the primary particle size on the electrochemical performance of the Sb2S3 anode. We found that compared with microcrystalline Sb2S3, smaller ca. 20-25 nm and ca. 180-200 nm Sb2S3 NPs exhibit enhanced cycling stability as anode materials in both rechargeable LIBs and SIBs. Importantly, for the ca. 20-25 nm Sb2S3 NPs, a high initial Li-ion storage capacity of 742 mAh g-1 was achieved at a current density of 2.4 A g-1. At least 55% of this capacity was retained after 1200 cycles, which is among the most stable performance Sb2S3 anodes for LIBs.

Amorphous Sb2S3 Nanospheres In-Situ Grown on Carbon Nanotubes: Anodes for NIBs and KIBs

Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) with a high theoretical capacity is considered as a promising candidate for Na-ion batteries (NIBs) and K-ion batteries (KIBs). However, its poor electrochemical activity and structural stability are the main issues to be solved. Herein, amorphous Sb2S3 nanospheres/carbon nanotube (Sb2S3/CNT) nanocomposites are successfully synthesized via one step self-assembly method. In-situ growth of amorphous Sb2S3 nanospheres on the CNTs is confirmed by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The amorphous Sb2S3/CNT nanocomposites as an anode for NIBs exhibit excellent electrochemical performance, delivering a high charge capacity of 870 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1, with an initial coulomb efficiency of 77.8%. Even at 3000 mA g-1, a charge capacity of 474 mA h g-1 can be achieved. As an anode for KIBs, the amorphous Sb2S3/CNT nanocomposites also demonstrate a high charge capacity of 451 mA h g-1 at 25 mA g-1. The remarkable performance of the amorphous Sb2S3/CNT nanocomposites is attributed to the synergic effects of the amorphous Sb2S3 nanospheres and 3D porous conductive network constructed by the CNTs.