Crab Shell-Derived SnS2/C and FeS2/C Carbon Composites as Anodes for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The demand for energy storage devices has increased significantly, and the sustainable development of lithium-ion batteries is limited by scarce lithium resources. Therefore, alternative sodium-ion batteries which are rich in resource may become more competitive in the future market. In this work, we synthesized low-cost SnS2/C and FeS2/C anode materials of sodium-ion batteries which used waste crab shells as biomass carbon precursor. The SnS2 nanosheet and FeS2 nanosphere structures are deposited on the crab shell-derived carbon through simple hydrothermal reaction. Due to the coexistence of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and crab-derived biomass carbon, the anode material has excellent cycle stability and rate performance. SnS2/C and FeS2/C deliver capacities of 535.4 and 479 mA h g-1 at the current density of 0.1 A g-1, respectively. This study explored an effective and economical strategy to use biomass and TMDs to construct high-performance sodium-ion batteries.