Interface Engineering Enables High-Performance Sb Anode for Sodium Storage

Abstract

Heterointerface engineering has been verified to be an effective approach to enhance the energy density of alkali-ion batteries by resolving inherent shortcomings of single materials. However, the rational construction of heterogeneous composite with abundant heterogeneous interfaces for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) is still a significant challenge. Herein, inspired by density functional theory calculations, interface engineering can greatly decrease the energy bandgap and migration barrier of Na ions in Sb and Na3Sb phases, as well as enhance the mechanical properties. A porous heterointerface MOFC–Sb is fabricated by utilizing MOF-C as a support and buffer, exhibiting excellent electrochemical performances for sodium storage. The MOF-C–Sb anode with its rich heterointerface presents an improved electrochemical performance of 540.5 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1, and 515.9 mAh g−1 at 1.6 A g−1 in term of sodium storage, efficiently resolving the serious volume expansion issues of metal Sb. These results indicate the structural superiority of heterointerface-engineered structure and afford valuable information for the rational design and construction of Sb-based anode materials for high-performance electrochemical energy storage.