Non-Equilibrium Sodiation Pathway of CuSbS2

Abstract

Binary metal sulfides have been explored as sodium storage materials owing to their high theoretical capacity and high stable cyclability. Nevertheless, their relative high charge voltage and relatively low practical capacity make them less attractive as an anode material. To resolve the problem, addition of alloying elements is considerable. Copper antimony sulfide is investigated as a representative case. In this study, we do not only perform electrochemical characterization on CuSbS₂, but also investigate its nonequilibrium sodiation pathway employing in-/ex situ transmission electron microscopy, in situ X-ray diffraction, and density functional theory calculations. Our finding provides valuable insights on sodium storage into ternary metal sulfide including an alloying element.

Keywords: CuSbS2; Na ion battery; density functional theory; in-/ex-situ transmission electron microscopy; nonequilibrium sodiation pathway; ternary metal sulfide.