Binder-Free Anodes for Potassium-ion Batteries Comprising Antimony Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes Obtained Using Electrophoretic Deposition

Antimony has a high theoretical capacity and suitable alloying/dealloying potentials to make it a future anode for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs); however, substantial volumetric changes, severe pulverization, and active mass delamination from the Cu foil during potassiation/depotassiation need to be overcome. Herein, we present the use of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to fabricate binder-free electrodes consisting of Sb nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in interconnected multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The anode architecture allows volume changes to be accommodated and prevents Sb delamination within the binder-free electrodes. The Sb mass ratio of the Sb/CNT nanocomposites was varied, with the optimized Sb/CNT nanocomposite delivering a high reversible capacity of 341.30 mA h g–1 (∼90% of the initial charge capacity) after 300 cycles at C/5 and 185.69 mA h g–1 after 300 cycles at 1C. Postcycling investigations reveal that the stable performance is due to the unique Sb/CNT nanocomposite structure, which can be retained over extended cycling, protecting Sb NPs from volume changes and retaining the integrity of the electrode. Our findings not only suggest a facile fabrication method for high-performance alloy-based anodes in PIBs but also encourage the development of alloying-based anodes for next-generation PIBs.