A Hierarchical Tin/Carbon Composite as an Anode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries with a Long Cycle Life

Abstract

Tin is a promising anode candidate for nextgeneration lithium-ion batteries with a high energy density, but suffers from the huge volume change (ca. 260 %) upon lithiation. To address this issue, here we report a new hierarchical tin/carbon composite in which some of the nanosized Sn particles are anchored on the tips of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are rooted on the exterior surfaces of micro-sized hollow carbon cubes while other Sn nanoparticles are encapsulated in hollow carbon cubes. Such a hierarchical structure possesses a robust framework with rich voids, which allows Sn to alleviate its mechanical strain without forming cracks and pulverization upon lithiation/de-lithiation. As a result, the Sn/C composite exhibits an excellent cyclic performance, namely, retaining a capacity of 537 mAh g À1 for around 1000 cycles without obvious decay at a high current density of 3000 mA g À1 .Existing commercial graphite anodes are capable of delivering a capacity of approximately 330 mAh g À1 , thereby approaching its theoretical capacity (372 mAh g À1 ). New anodes are required to meet the demands of next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for high energy and power densities and a long cycle life. Sn, despite its high costs, is of significant interest and has been investigated extensively because of its high capacity (993.4 mAh g À1 ; from Sn to Li 4.4 Sn), abundance, and environmentally-friendliness; however, a huge volume change of the Sn anode (ca. 260 %) upon lithiation leads to very poor cyclic performance, inhibiting its practical applications.To address this issue, besides employing Sn-based nanocrystals [1,2] and thin films, [3][4][5] forming SnM (M = Co, [6] Cu, [7]

Natural‐Cellulose‐Derived Tin‐Nanoparticle/Carbon‐Nanofiber Composite as Anodic Material in Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…From the second cycle, the two small reduction peaks at 0.20 and 0.53 Vare caused by the lithium insertion into tin to form the Li x Sn alloy,a nd the oxidationp eaks at 0.70 and 0.87 Va re corresponding to the delithiation process of the alloy. [24] The cathodic peak at about 0.9 Vi sd ue to the formation of Li x C, and the broad anodic peak at 1.2 Vi sa scribed to the conversion of LiC x to C; [18,24] which were also observed in the case of the carbon matter obtainedb yc arbonization of cellulose filter paper ( Figure S7ai represents the galvanostatic charge/discharge voltage profiles of sample Sn-16 %-carbon at ac onstantc urrent density of 100 mA g À1 in the voltage range of 0.01-3.0 V. The first cycle dischargea nd charge capacities were1 241.4 and 538.9 mAh g À1 ,r espectively;a nd the corresponding Coulombic efficiency was 43.4 %. The discharge capacity decreased to be 555.0 mAh g À1 in the second cycle.…”

Uniform Fe3O4 microflowers hierarchical structures assembled with porous nanoplates as superior anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

“…Therefore, considerable attention has been paid to develop novel materials for both the cathodes and anodes of LIBs which are inexpensive, safe and environmentally benign. So far, graphitic/non-graphitic carbon [7,8], transition-metal oxides [9,10], nitrides [11,12], alloys [13][14][15] and their composites have been exploited as the anode materials of LIBs. In this context, transition metal oxides have received special intersest since they can exhibit about three times higher capacity than the commerial used graphite with a capacity of 372 mAh g -1 .…”

Facile Synthesis of Sn/Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites with Superb Lithium Storage Properties

“…The high-resolution Sn 3D spectra are shown in Figure 4d. The Sn 3D spectra presented two peaks at 487.1 (Sn 3d 5/2) and 495.6 eV (Sn 3d 3/2), which are higher than the corresponding binding energy of Sn 0 , indicating the existence of Sn 4+ on the surface of Sn nanoparticles, which is due to the oxidation of the highly active Sn metal surface, and has been widely observed in reported Sn and carbon (Sn@carbon) compositions [29,30,31].…”