Facile synthesis of SnS2@g-C3N4 composites as high performance anodes for lithium ion batteries

Today, the demand of high performance and low-cost anodes for lithium ion batteries becomes more serious to meet the requirement of electric vehicles and portable devices. In this study, a facile synthesis technique using a solid state reaction has been successfully applied for SnS2@g-C3N4 composites. The obtained composites are constructed by SnS2 nanosheets well-dispersed in porous matrix of g-C3N4. The enhancement in the specific capacity, rated performance, and cycling behavior of the SnS2@g-C3N4 composites is assigned to the buffering effect of the large-surface-area g-C3N4 matrix as well as the predominant contribution of pseudocapacitive effect. The improved mobility of charge carriers is raised from not only the high exfoliation of the SnS2 nanosheets, the high porosity of the composites but also the formation of heterointerfaces between semiconductors of SnS2 and g-C3N4. Accordingly, an internal electric field is generated inside the synthesized composites, which accelerates the migration of electrons and lithium ions.

Automated summary

This study successfully applied a solid state reaction to synthesize SnS2@g-C3N4 composites, comprising SnS2 nanosheets dispersed in a porous g-C3N4 matrix. The significant improvement in specific capacity, rated performance, and cycling behavior of the composites was attributed to the buffering effect of the large-surface-area g-C3N4 matrix and the pseudocapacitive effect. Enhanced mobility of charge carriers was achieved through the high exfoliation of SnS2 nanosheets, the high porosity of the composites, and the formation of heterointerfaces between SnS2 and g-C3N4 semiconductors, generating an internal electric field that accelerated the migration of electrons and lithium ions.