@article{Zhang2015, 
author = {Ning Zhang and Yongchang Liu and Yanying Lu and Xiaopeng Han and Fangyi Cheng and Jun Chen},
title = {Spherical nano-Sb@C composite as a high-rate and ultra-stable anode material for sodium-ion batteries},
year = {2015},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {8},
number = {10},
pages = {3384-3393},
keywords = {antimony, micro-nanostructured composite, anode material, sodium-ion batteries},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-015-0838-3},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-015-0838-3},
abstract = {An aerosol spray pyrolysis technique is used to synthesize a spherical nano-Sb@C composite. Instrumental analyses reveal that the micro-nanostructured composite with an optimized Sb content of 68.8 wt% is composed of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles (10 nm) uniformly embedded within a spherical porous C matrix (denoted as 10-Sb@C). The content and size of Sb can be controlled by altering the concentration of the precursor. As an anode material of sodium-ion batteries, 10-Sb@C provides a discharge capacity of 435 mAh·g–1 in the second cycle and 385 mAh·g–1 (a capacity retention of 88.5%) after 500 cycles at 100 mAh·g–1. In particular, the electrode exhibits an excellent rate capability (355, 324, and 270 mAh·g–1 at 1, 000, 2, 000, and 4, 000 mA·g–1, respectively). Such a high-rate performance for the Sb-C anode has rarely been reported. The remarkable electrochemical behavior of 10-Sb@C is attributed to the synergetic effects of ultra-small Sb nanoparticles with an uniform distribution and a porous C framework, which can effectively alleviate the stress associated with a large volume change and suppress the agglomeration of the pulverized nanoparticles during prolonged charge-discharge cycling.}
}