Preparation and electrochemical performance of a novel bimetallic antimony-based chalcogenide compound CuSbSe2 as anode material for quasi-solid-state batteries

A novel bimetallic antimony-based selenide anode material, CuSbSe2, was developed through the vacuum solid-state sintering technique. Subsequent studies concentrated on modifying its carbon coating. The active materials were characterized in terms of composition using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and their morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results of the electrochemical analysis revealed that under half-cell conditions, the carbon-coated CuSbSe2@C active material demonstrated initial discharge specific capacities of 608.57 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 0.1 C (0.047 A/g) and 390.29 mAh·g−1 at 1 C (0.47 A/g). After 200 cycles, the capacity retention rates were measured at 65.48 % and 70.29 %, respectively. The application of galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the carbon coating significantly enhanced the charge transport properties of the CuSbSe2@C material. This improvement contributed to superior rate performance, specific capacity, and various other electrochemical characteristics of the active material. Additionally, the CuSbSe2@C/Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3/LiFePO4 quasi-solid-state cell exhibited a discharge specific capacity of 339.72 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 0.2 C, with a capacity retention of 60.37 % after 100 cycles. These experimental findings suggest that CuSbSe2@C has considerable potential as an anode material for both conventional lithium batteries and solid-state cells. [Display omitted] •A method for the efficient preparation of CuSbSe2 has been proposed.•CuSbSe2@C exhibits excellent electrochemical performance.•The CuSbSe2@C/LAGP/LFP quasi-solid-state full cell exhibited a suitable discharge specific capacity.•CuSbSe2@C shows great potential as a anode electrode material in the field of solid-state batteries.