Natural stibnite ore (SbS) embedded in sulfur-doped carbon sheets: enhanced electrochemical properties as anode for sodium ions storage.

Antimony sulfide (SbS) has drawn widespread attention as an ideal candidate anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its high specific capacity of 946 mA h g in conversion and alloy reactions. Nevertheless, volume expansion, a common flaw for conversion-alloy type materials during the sodiation and desodiation processes, is bad for the structure of materials and thus obstructs the application of antimony sulfide in energy storage. A common approach to solve this problem is by introducing carbon or other matrices as buffer material. However, the common preparation of SbS could result in environmental pollution and excessive energy consumption in most cases. To incorporate green chemistry, natural stibnite ore (SbS) after modification carbon sheets was applied as a first-hand material in SIBs through a facile and efficient strategy. The unique composites exhibited an outstanding electrochemical performance with a higher reversible capacity, a better rate capability, as well as an excellent cycling stability compared to that of the natural stibnite ore. In short, the study is expected to offer a new approach to improve SbS composites as an anode in SIBs and a reference for the development of natural ore as a first-hand material in energy storage.