Nano-Confined Tin Oxide in Carbon Nanotube Electrodes via Electrostatic Spray Deposition for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The development of novel materials is essential for the next generation of electric vehicles and portable devices. Tin oxide (SnO2), with its relatively high theoretical capacity, has been considered as a promising anode material for applications in energy storage devices. However, the SnO2 anode material suffers from poor conductivity and huge volume expansion during charge/discharge cycles. In this study, we evaluated an approach to control the conductivity and volume change of SnO2 through a controllable and effective method by confining different percentages of SnO2 nanoparticles into carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The binder-free confined SnO2 in CNT composite was deposited via an electrostatic spray deposition technique. The morphology of the synthesized and deposited composite was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron spectroscopy. The binder-free 20% confined SnO2 in CNT anode delivered a high reversible capacity of 770.6 mAh g−1. The specific capacity of the anode increased to 1069.7 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles, owing to the electrochemical milling effect. The delivered specific capacity after 200 cycles shows that developed novel anode material is suitable for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).