In Situ Binding Sb Nanospheres on Graphene via Oxygen Bonds as Superior Anode for Ultrafast Sodium-Ion Batteries

Graphene incorporation should be one effective strategy to develop advanced electrode materials for a sodium ion battery (SIB). Herein, the micro/nanostructural Sb/graphene composite (Sb-O-G) is successfully prepared with the uniform Sb nanospheres (similar to 100 nm.) bound on the graphene via oxygen bonds. It is revealed that the in-situ-constructed oxygen bonds play a significant role on enhancing Na-storage properties, especially the ultrafast charge/discharge capability. The oxygen-bond-enhanced Sb-O-G composite can deliver a high capacity of 220 mAh/g at an ultrahigh current density of 12 A/g, which is obviously superior to the similar Sb/G composite (130 mAh/g at 10 A/g) just without Sb-O-C bonds. It also exhibits the highest Na-storage capacity compared to Sb/G and pure Sb nanoparticles as well as the best cycling performance. More importantly, this Sb-O-G anode achieves ultrafast (120 C) energy storage in SIB full cells, which have already been shown to power a 26-bulb array and calculator. All of these superior performances originate from the structural stability of Sb-O-C bonds during Na uptake/release, which has been verified by ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies and infrared spectroscopies.