Integrating antimony/amorphous vanadium oxide composite structure into electrospun carbon nanofibers for synergistically enhanced lithium/sodium-ion storage

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Oct 15:624:362-369. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.05.074. Epub 2022 May 17.

Abstract

Development of advanced anode material is highly desired in the energy storage field, not only for the current dominant lithium ion battery (LIB), but also for the sodium ion battery (SIB) with high potential in large-scale and low-cost stationary energy storage systems. Herein, we present a sea cucumber-like hybrid (Sb/VOx-CNFs) which integrates Sb and amorphous VOx composite structure into carbon fibers through electrospinning and sequential annealing treatment. With the specific structural and composition advantages brought synergistically by the Sb/VOx composite structure and the carbon fiber skeleton, the as-prepared Sb/VOx-CNFs delivers a high rate capacity and long-cycle life for both Na+ (∼337 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles at 1 A g-1) and Li+ (∼554 mAh g-1 after 300 cycles at 0.5 A g-1) when applied as anode materials in the assembled SIB and LIB coin cells due to the improved charge transfer, enlarged active sites and enhanced structural stabilities. The practical applicability of Sb/VOx-CNFs is also demonstrated by the assembly and tests of Sb/VOx-CNFs//Na3V2(PO4)3 full cell where the commercial Na3V2(PO4)3 is employed as the cathode material. Importantly, the presented strategy with favorable synergistic effect could provide expansion opportunities for the design of composite structured nanomaterials in the energy storage fields.

Keywords: Anode materials; N-doped carbon fiber; Sb/VO(x); Sodium and lithium storage; Synergistic effect.