Facile precipitation of tin oxide nanoparticles on graphene sheet by liquid phase plasma method for enhanced electrochemical properties

A high-performance lithium ion battery (LIB) electrode was prepared by precipitating tin oxide nanoparticles on graphene powder by the liquid phase plasma (LPP) method. The particles generated by the LPP reaction are spherical SnO2 nanoparticles with a size of 5-10 nm, as confirmed by a variety of analytical devices. The quantity of SnO2 nanoparticles partially aggregated on the graphene sheet surface increases as the initial concentration of the tin precursor increases. The SnO2/graphene nanocomposites (SGNC) electrodes prepared by the LPP method demonstrated improved cycling stability and reversible lithium storage capacity as compared to the bare graphene electrode. The precipitated tin oxide improves the lithium storage capacity, but excess tin oxide nanoparticles rather reduced the cycling stability.