Atomic layer deposition of SnO2 on MXene for Li-ion battery anodes

In this report, we show that oxide battery anodes can be grown on two-dimensional titanium carbide sheets (MXenes) by atomic layer deposition. Using this approach, we have fabricated a composite SnO2/MXene anode for Li-ion battery applications. The SnO2/MXene anode exploits the high Li-ion capacity offered by SnO2, while maintaining the structural and mechanical integrity of the conductive MXene platform. The atomic layer deposition (ALD) conditions used to deposit SnO2 on MXene terminated with oxygen, fluorine, and hydroxyl groups were found to be critical for preventing MXene degradation during ALD. We demonstrate that SnO2/MXene electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance as Li-ion battery anodes, where conductive MXene sheets act to buffer the volume changes associated with lithiation and delithiation of SnO2. The cyclic performance of the anodes is further improved by depositing a very thin passivation layer of HfO2, in the same ALD reactor, on the SnO2/MXene anode. This is shown by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy to also improve the structural integrity of the SnO2/MXene anode during cycling. The HfO2 coated SnO2/MXene electrodes demonstrate a stable specific capacity of 843 mAh/g when used as Li-ion battery anodes.