A facile hydrazine-assisted hydrothermal method for the deposition of monodisperse SnO2 nanoparticles onto graphene for lithium ion batteries

In this manuscript, we introduce a facile hydrothermal method for the controlled growth of SnO2 nanoparticles onto graphene oxide. Hydrazine plays a fundamental role in controlling the formation and crystallization of SnO2 nanoparticles, and the reduction of graphene oxide to graphene. The SnO2-graphene composite consists of 3-4 nm monodisperse SnO2 nanocrystals homogeneously dispersed at the surface of graphene. It is demonstrated that the composite can accommodate the large volume change of SnO2 which occurs during lithiation-delithiation cycles. When used as an anode material for lithium ion batteries, it exhibits a first discharge capacity of 1662 mA h g(-1), which rapidly stabilizes and still remains at 626 mA h g(-1) even after 50 cycles, when cycled at a current density of 100 mA g(-1). Even at the very high current density of 3200 mA g(-1), the composite displays a stable capacity of 383 mA h g(-1) after 50 cycles.