Synthesis of nano Sb-encapsulated pyrolytic polyacrylonitrile composite for anode material in lithium secondary batteries

A novel process was proposed to synthesize nano Sb-encapsulated pyrolytic polyacrylonitrile composite for anode material in lithium secondary batteries. The preparation started with the dissolution of SbCl₃ and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution, followed by the addition of KBH₄ to reduce Sb³⁺ in the solution. The Sb composite was obtained by pyrolysis of the Sb/PAN mixture that precipitated out when the DMF solution was added by plentiful water. The TEM analysis showed that about 100-200 nm Sb particles were embedded by the pyrolyzed PAN, which provided a conductive matrix to relieve the morphological change of Sb during electrochemical cycling. As-prepared composite presented good cycleability for lithium storage. The proposed process paves an effective way to prepare high performance alloy based composite anode materials for high performance lithium-ion batteries.