Introduction Although Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are already well established in the market and used in a variety of applications, the quest for higher energy density has led scientists to search for better alternatives to the standard electrode materials. In this regard, SnO_2-based electrode materials are attracting growing interest as high-capacity anodes for LIBs for a variety of reasons, including their high theoretical capacity (790 mAh/g), low cost and low toxicity.~1 The main drawback for their use in a real application is the low capacity retention due to substantial changes in volume during the alloying/de-alloying process (the so called "pulverization" problem). A strategy that has probed to be effective,in buffering such variations in volume is the use of nanoparticles of SnO_2 embedded in a carbonaceous matrix, whose structure influences the anode performance. Indeed, even though the capacity values obtained for such electrodes are well below those that might be expected for pure tin, they nevertheless represent a significant increase compared to those of standard carbonaceous electrodes. Additionally, for the practical use of such SnO_2-carbon composites anodes, it is necessary the development of simple and potentially scalable synthesis strategies. Therefore, in this work we report on an easy and potentially scalable procedure for synthesizing SnO_2-carbon composites by means of an inexpensive and rapid method for incorporating uniform SnO_2 nanoparticles onto the surface of highly crystallized nanocarbon produced by a novel and facile synthesis methodology. The SnO_2-carbon composites thus obtained were used as lithium storage compounds in Li test batteries.
展开▼
