Fabrication of Sb-based alloys/carbon nanofibers with uniform dispersion as anode material for high efficiency sodium storage

To solve the serious volume expansion problem of Sb-based anode materials in the alloying/dealloying process, a strategy combining electrospinning and hydrogen reduction is proposed to prepare a series of Sb-based alloys/carbon nanofiber composites (SbM/CNFs, M = Co, Zn, Ni). Inactive elements are innovatively introduced to form Sb based alloys with enhanced stability. The results show that the content of SbCo nanoparticles is high to 69.12% (mass), which are uniformly dispersed in carbon fibers. When evaluated as anode material for SIBs, SbCo/CNFs anode exhibits excellent sodium storage capacity, the initial discharge capacity is 580.0 mA h·g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹, which can hold 483.5 mA h·g⁻¹ after 100 cycles. Even the current density increases to 1.0 A g⁻¹, the specific capacity still maintains at 344.5 mA h·g⁻¹ after 150 cycles. The improved sodium storage capacity is attributed to the synergistic effect of conductive carbon fibers and SbCo nanoparticles with uniform dispersion, which not only provide excellent electronic conductivity, but also enhance structural stability to reduce volume change.