Bimetallic Sulfide Sb₂S₃@FeS₂ Hollow Nanorods as High-Performance Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Constructing a heterojunction and introducing an interfacial interaction by designing ideal structures have the inherent advantages of optimizing electronic structures and macroscopic mechanical properties. An exquisite hierarchical heterogeneous structure of bimetal sulfide Sb₂S₃@FeS₂ hollow nanorods embedded into a nitrogen-doped carbon matrix is fabricated by a concise two-step solvothermal method. The FeS₂ interlayer expands in situ grow on the interface of hollow Sb₂S₃ nanorods within the nitrogen-doped graphene matrix, forming a delicate heterostructure. Such a well-designed architecture affords rapid Na⁺ diffusion and improves charge transfer at the heterointerfaces. Meanwhile, the strongly synergistic coupling interaction among the interior Sb₂S₃, interlayer FeS₂, and external nitrogen-doped carbon matrix creates a stable nanostructure, which extremely accelerates the electronic/ion transport and effectively alleviates the volume expansion upon long cyclic performance. As a result, the composite, as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries, exhibits a superior rate capability of 537.9 mAh g^-1 at 10 A g^-1 and excellent cyclic stability with 85.7% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 5 A g^-1. Based on the DFT calculation, the existing constructing heterojunction in this composite can not only optimize the electronic structure to enhance the conductivity but also favor the Na₂S adsorption energy to accelerate the reaction kinetics. The outstanding electrochemical performance sheds light on the strategy by the rational design of hierarchical heterogeneous nanostructures for energy storage applications.