title: Antimony Nanocrystals Encapsulated in Carbon Microspheres Synthesized by a Facile Self-Catalyzing Solvothermal Method for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes.
abstract: Antimony/carbon (Sb@C) microspheres are initially synthesized via a facile self-catalyzing solvothermal method, and their applicability as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries is investigated. The structural and morphological characterizations reveal that Sb@C microspheres are composed of Sb nanoparticles (∼20 nm) homogeneously encapsulated in the C matrix. The self-catalyzing solvothermal mechanism is verified through comparative experiments by using different raw materials. The as-prepared Sb@C microspheres exhibit superior sodium storage properties, demonstrating a reversible capacity of 640 mAh g(-1), excellent rate performance, and an extended cycling stability of 92.3% capacity retention over 300 cycles, making them promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Xianyong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry, Central China Normal University , Wuhan 430079, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lifen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Xinping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Hanxi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Hubei Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Yuliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
keywords: Sb@C microspheres; anode; self-catalyzed reaction; sodium-ion batteries; solvothermal synthesis