LAUSR

Abstract Antimony is a known high capacity anode material for both Li- and Na-ion batteries that has the potential to improve the energy storage density over commercial graphite anode-based Li-ion batteries. As with other high capacity anode materials (such as silicon), the large storage capacity of antimony results in large volume changes of the anode during discharge/recharge cycles. This results in the formation of significant cracking of the anode, causing active material to lose electrical connection to the current collector which, ultimately, causes the cell to fail. To address this type of failure, we incorporate carbon nanotubes into antimony carbon nanotube composite electrodes (Sb/CNT) using a one-step electrodeposition procedure. The advantage of directly depositing functional anodes from solution is that no binders are used and there is no post-processing required. This means that the electrical and mechanical behavior of these materials can be probed directly in functioning battery cells, without the convolution of other materials. The Sb/CNT composite films cycle with higher reversible capacities and for longer than Sb films electrodeposited without CNT’s in both the Li-ion and Na-ion cells. Post-cycling characterization of the anodes confirms the ability of the CNT’s to keep the anode film more mechanically and electrically connected, despite large volume changes and significant solid-electrolyte-interface layer formation.