Three-Dimensional Antimony Nanochains for Lithium-Ion Storage

Abstract

Three-dimensional antimony nanochain architectures with a rhombohedral phase, possessing particle sizes of ∼30 nm, have been prepared via ammonia–borane reduction of SbCl3 in an aqueous medium, followed by nucleation and capping processes. These offer adequate space to abate the large volumetric expansion during lithiation. Lithium-ion batteries fabricated with these antimony nanochains exhibited a stable specific charge capacity of 523 mAh g–1 at a C rate of 0.5 C with a Coulombic efficiency of 99.8% and a capacity retention of 92% after 100 cycles.