Synthesis of SnO2/Sn@carbon nanospheres dispersed in the interspaces of a three-dimensional SnO2/Sma.carbon nanowires network, and their application as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In this work, a peculiar nanostructure of SnO2/Sn@carbon nanospheres dispersed in the interspaces of a three-dimensional SnO2/Sn@carbon nanowires network composite (denoted as SnO2/Sn@C) has been successfully fabricated by a facile strategy and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, laser Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization, illustrating the combination of the nanospheres and the 3-dimensional nanowires network. This architecture effectively withstands the volume change and restricts the agglomeration of SnO2/Sn during the cycling process. Moreover, the SnO2/Sn distributed in carbon matrix and the SnO2/Sn@carbon nanospheres dispersed in interspaces of three-dimensional SnO2/Sn@carbon nanowires network facilitate electron and ion transport throughout the electrode. As a result, this composite exhibits excellent performance as a potential anode material for lithium ion batteries and delivers a reversible capacity of 678.6 mA h g(-1) at 800 mA g(-1), even after 500 cycles.