Nano Sn-SnOx embedded in multichannel hollow carbon nanofibers: Microstructure, reversible lithium storage property and mechanism

To ameliorate the lithium storage property of tin-based oxides, nano Sn-SnOx embedded in multichannel hollow carbon nanofibers (Sn-SnOx@MCNF) were identified in this work. Multichannel hollow carbon nanofibers embedded uniformly by amorphous SnOx and proper Sn nanocrystals with various valence states of Sn endowed Sn-SnOx@MCNF quick ion transfer rate, enough catalytic active sites, high structure stability, little agglomeration and superior buffering volume change during alloying/dealloying processes. Accordingly, SnSnOx@MCNF-based electrodes possessed predominant reversibility, large capacity and excellent rate capability during the process of lithium intercalation of SnOx to Li2O and LixSn. When applied in practice, the present SnSnOx@MCNF-based electrodes expressed a high reversible capacity of 669.2 mAh g-1 even after 600 cycles at 1.0 A g-1 and a high-rate capacity of 525.1 mAh g-1 at 4.0 A g-1. Sn-SnOx@MCNF will be a potential anode material for Li-ion batteries with superior Li-storage performance. The synergistic enhancement mechanism between MCNF and nano Sn-SnOx was proposed in detail.

Automated summary

In this work, nano Sn-SnOx embedded in multichannel hollow carbon nanofibers (Sn-SnOx@MCNF) were found to improve the lithium storage property of tin-based oxides. Sn-SnOx@MCNF exhibited quick ion transfer rate, enough catalytic active sites, high structure stability, little agglomeration, and superior buffering volume change during alloying/dealloying processes. The SnSnOx@MCNF-based electrodes demonstrated predominant reversibility, large capacity, and excellent rate capability during the lithium intercalation process. In practical applications, SnSnOx@MCNF-based electrodes showed a high reversible capacity of 669.2 mAh g-1 even after 600 cycles at 1.0 A g-1 and a high-rate capacity of 525.1 mAh g-1 at 4.0 A g-1. Sn-SnOx@MCNF could be a potential anode material for Li-ion batteries with superior Li-storage performance. Furthermore, a detailed synergistic enhancement mechanism between MCNF and nano Sn-SnOx was proposed.