Highly dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles confined on xylem fiber-derived carbon frameworks as anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Tin oxide (SnO2) has been considered as a promising alternative material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anodes owing to its high specific capacity, low operation potential and high natural abundance. However, its practical performance is hampered by the poor rate capability and fast capacity fading. In this work, we synthesized the highly dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles confined on the xylem fiber-derived carbon frameworks (SnO2@XFC@C) by a facile solvothermal method. The synergy of using open XFs-derived carbon as conductive framework and glucose-derived carbon as matrix enables the superior lithium storage capability of SnO2 materials. Using aqueous electrode proceeding, the SnO2@XFC@C delivers a high discharge capacity of 1810 mAh g(-1) with an initial Coulombic efficiency of 85.4%, and excellent high-rate cycling stability (505 mAh g(-1) at 1.0 C after 1000 cycles). This structure design offers significant advantages in terms of realization of low cost, high energy and sustainable lithium-ion batteries, and is extendable to other battery systems.