Nitrogen doped porous carbon coated antimony as high performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries

Sb holds the promise of being a high performance anode for sodium ion batteries(SIBs), while effective preparation of decent antimony(Sb) based anode materials for sodium storage is still under exploration. Herein, we propose a simple approach to achieve a high performance anode, using polyaniline as the carbon source and SbCl3 as the metal source. Synergetic polymerization and hydrolysis reactions combined with subsequent thermal reduction endow Sb/C-PANI electrode possessing ultrafine Sb nanoparticles symmetrically distributed in the nitrogen(N) doped porous carbon matrix. The Sb/C-PANI electrode exhibits excellent sodium storage performance, featured for a high reversible capacity of 469.5 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at 100 mA g(-1) and 336.5 mAh g(-1) after 300 cycles under 500 mA g(-1). Such impressive performance will advance the development of Sb based anode materials for sodium storage. The present approach provides a compatible strategy for preparation of anode materials with high reversible capacity and long lifespan.