A novel anode material of antimony nitride for rechargeable lithium batteries

Antimony nitride thin film has been successfully fabricated by magnetron sputtering method and its electrochemistry with lithium was investigated for the first time. The reversible discharge capacity of Sb3N/Li cells cycled between 0.3 V and 3.0 V was found above 600 mAh/g. By using transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction measurements, the conversion reaction of Sb3N into Li3Sb and Li3N was revealed during the lithium electrochemical reaction of Sb3N thin film electrode. The high reversible capacity and the good cycleability made Sb3N one of promising anode materials for future rechargeable lithium batteries. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.