Anodes for lithium batteries: tin revisited

Pure tin, without the addition of conducting diluents or binders, has been evaluated as an anode in lithium cells. Capacities approaching 600 mAh/g are maintained for over 10 deep cycles, before falling off, indicating the inherent reversibility of the tin anode. These are comparable to those reported for Cu6Sn5 and considerably higher than for deposited tin films. The tin grain size was determined and found to decrease with cycling from over 400 to below 100 nm over 10 cycles. The cell impedance increases significantly after 10 cycles, consistent with the observed loss of capacity on extended cycling. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.