Sonochemical Deposition of Sn, SnO2 and Sb on Spherical Hard Carbon Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries

Sonochemical deposition of Sn, SnO2 and Sb nanoparticles on the surface of autogenically-prepared hard carbon spheres increases their capacity for accommodating lithium, thereby rendering these carbon composite materials promising negative electrodes for advanced lithium-ion electrochemical cells. Preliminary data indicate that the carbon spheres, which offer a base capacity of similar to 250 mAh/g, can provide between 300 and 400 mAh/g with excellent cycling stability when decorated with 10-15 wt% Sn, SnO2 and Sb nanoparticles. The latter value exceeds the theoretical capacity of conventional graphite electrodes (LiC6, 372 mAh/g), suggesting that the Sn, SnO2 and Sb nanoparticles remain tethered to, and maintain electrical connectivity with, the carbon substrate during electrochemical cycling. Compositional, morphological, structural and electrochemical properties of these carbon composite materials are presented and discussed with respect to other types of previously reported architectures composed of carbon, tin and/or antimony. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.