Effect of alloying on the electrochemical performance of Sb and Sn deposits as an anode material for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries

Herein, we report the electrochemical performance of galvanostatically electrodeposited antimony, tin, and their binary alloy antimony-tin as anode materials for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. The antimony-tin anodes deliver an initial capacity of 820 and 686 mAh g −1 , with a stable capacity retention of ~ 560 and ~ 400 mAh g −1 for 50 cycles, in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, respectively. Significant capacity fade observed in individual metal anodes during cycling is due to large volume change, which is addressed to a certain extent by implementing an intermetallic antimony-tin alloy anode. Besides, the inclusion of carbon nanotube in binary alloy to synthesis antimony-tin-carbon nanotube nanocomposite significantly improves the capacities to ~ 600 and ~ 440 mAh g −1 for lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery, respectively, over 50 cycles. The improvement in the capacity and cycling stability of the antimony-tin-carbon nanotube nanocomposite electrode is ascribed to the increase in conductivity, structural stability, and controlled morphology growth.