Microwave Hydrothermal Synthesis of Hierarchical Sb ₂ S ₃ Architectures as Anode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Abstract Flower‐like Sb 2 S 3 hierarchical architectures constructed by one‐dimensional (1D) building blocks have been successfully synthesized via microwave‐assisted hydrothermal method by using SbF 3 as antimony source and PVP as controlling agent as well as carbon‐coating source. The effect of PVP and reaction temperature on the morphological evolution of Sb 2 S 3 architectures were systematically investigated, showing that introduction of PVP can readily regulate the morphological and phase structures of the Sb 2 S 3 building blocks and their hierarchical assembly on the aspect of size and uniformity, phase, assembly density and disassembly. UV–visible (vis) absorption spectra reveals that the as‐prepared Sb 2 S 3 shows broad visible‐light absorption up to 800 nm with a band gap of ∼1.6 eV. When examined as anode materials in lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), the as‐prepared Sb 2 S 3 with amorphous carbon coating layer, originating from the in situ carbonization of PVP, showed higher capacity and better cyclic performances than those of Sb 2 S 3 counterpart obtained without PVP.