Lithium Pre-cycling Induced Fast Kinetics of Commercial Sb2S3 Anode for Advanced Sodium Storage

Because of the abundant sodium resources and identical fundamental principles, sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are the state-of-the-art alternative for lithium ion batteries. However, the larger ionic radius of Na+ causes sluggish reaction kinetics, which directly results in inferior electrochemical performance. In this work, the sodium storage properties of commercial bulk Sb2S3 (CSS) were improved by a single lithiation/delithiation cycle obtaining the lithium pre-cycled Sb2S3 (LSS). Quantitative analysis reveals that the sodiation/desodiation kinetics of CSS and LSS is mainly diffusion-controlled behavior and capacitive process, respectively. Thus, the reaction kinetics of LSS is promising, which exhibits improved initial coulombic efficiency, stable cycling performance, and high rate capability. In addition, a stable Li-containing solid electrolyte interphase film was formed during the lithiation process, which can prevent continuous consumption of electrolyte during the each sodiation process. These results demonstrate that prelithiation technique should be a potential strategy to promote practical application for SIBs.