One-Pot Synthesis of Carbon Nanotube@SnO2-Au Coaxial Nanocable for Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Rate Capability

By using a facile one-pot synthetic route, we designed a one-dimensional hybrid nanostructure by introducing small amounts of Au species (0.9 wt %) dispersed over the amorphous tin oxide overlayers uniformly supported on coaxial carbon nanotubes as electrode materials for application in lithium ion battery. The as-synthesized CNT@SnO2-Au nanocables were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, elemental mapping, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; such hybrid nanostructure markedly improves electrode performance, especially for the rate performance. The capacities of 467 and 392 mA h g(-1) were obtained at rates of 3.6 A g(-1) and 7.2 A g(-1), respectively.