Novel one-step in situ growth of SnO2 quantum dots on reduced graphene oxide and its application for lithium ion batteries

Ultrafine SnO2 quantum dots (QDs) have been in situ grown on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by a facile method, which only involved a one-step molten salt method at 250 degrees C under atmosphere environment. The facile low-temperature molten salt method imparts SnO2 QDs with an average size of only 5.5 nm. The as-prepared mono-dispersed SnO2 QDs on rGO show enhanced electrochemical performances than those of bare SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Such novel method for in-situ growth of metal oxide QDs on rGO is easy to carry out and scale up, and it is much simpler to grow ultrafine metal oxide QDs than those of traditional methods, such as template methods or hydrothermal methods. The molten salt method may also be used to produce other metal oxide QDs on rGO as electrode materials for LIBs.