Pitaya-like Sn@C nanocomposites as high-rate and long-life anode for lithium-ion batteries.
In this article, we report on the preparation of the pitaya-like Sn@C nanocomposite with an aerosol spray pyrolysis and its application as a high-rate and long-life anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The structure and morphology analysis of the as-prepared Sn@C nanocomposite shows that Sn nanoparticles with a size of about 8 nm are homogeneously dispersed in the spherical carbon matrix (denoted as Sn8@C). The Sn8@C nanocomposite exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 1007.1 mA h g(-1) and maintains a reversible capacity of 910 mA h g(-1) after 180 cycles at 200 mA g(-1) (0.305 C). A capacity of 410 mA h g(-1) was obtained after 1000 cycles at 4000 mA g(-1) (6.1 C). Furthermore, the Sn8@C nanocomposite displays a charge-discharge capacity of 205.3 mA h g(-1) at 16 000 mA g(-1) (24.4 C). This high-rate performance is owing to the fact that the ultrasmall tin nanoparticles can effectively alleviate the absolute stress/strain during the lithiation/delithiation process and that the uniformly embedded nanoparticles in the stable carbon framework can accommodate the large volume change with a buffering effect to prevent Sn nanoparticles from aggregating.
Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China. chenabc@nankai.edu.cn.
Ning
N
Zhang
Qing
Q
Zhao
Xiaopeng
X
Han
Jingang
J
Yang
Jun
J
Chen
D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008094:Lithium / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D014001:Tin / Q000737:chemistry*
D007477:Ions; D014001:Tin; D002244:Carbon; D008094:Lithium