Nano-Micro Letters (Mar 2019)

High Initial Reversible Capacity and Long Life of Ternary SnO2-Co-carbon Nanocomposite Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

  • Pan Deng,
  • Jing Yang,
  • Shengyang Li,
  • Tian-E Fan,
  • Hong-Hui Wu,
  • Yun Mou,
  • Hui Huang,
  • Qiaobao Zhang,
  • Dong-Liang Peng,
  • Baihua Qu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-019-0246-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract The two major limitations in the application of SnO2 for lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes are the large volume variations of SnO2 during repeated lithiation/delithiation processes and a large irreversible capacity loss during the first cycle, which can lead to a rapid capacity fade and unsatisfactory initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). To overcome these limitations, we developed composites of ultrafine SnO2 nanoparticles and in situ formed Co(CoSn) nanocrystals embedded in an N-doped carbon matrix using a Co-based metal–organic framework (ZIF-67). The formed Co additives and structural advantages of the carbon-confined SnO2/Co nanocomposite effectively inhibited Sn coarsening in the lithiated SnO2 and mitigated its structural degradation while facilitating fast electronic transport and facile ionic diffusion. As a result, the electrodes demonstrated high ICE (82.2%), outstanding rate capability (~ 800 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 5 A g−1), and long-term cycling stability (~ 760 mAh g−1 after 400 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g−1). This study will be helpful in developing high-performance Si (Sn)-based oxide, Sn/Sb-based sulfide, or selenide electrodes for LIBs. In addition, some metal organic frameworks similar to ZIF-67 can also be used as composite templates.

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