Structural and electrochemical properties of a porous nanostructured SnO2 film electrode for lithium-ion batteries

A B2O3-doped SnO2 thin film was prepared by a novel experimental procedure combining the electrodeposition and the hydrothermal treatment, and its structure and electrochemical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) X-ray diffraction, (XRD) analysis, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. It was found that the as-prepared modified SnO2 film shows a porous network structure with large specific surface area and high crystallinity. The results of electrochemical tests showed that the modified SnO2 electrode presents the largest reversible capacity of 676 mAh g(-1) at the fourth cycle, close to the theoretical capacity of SnO2 (790 mAh g(-1)); and it still delivers a reversible Li storage capacity of 524 mAh g(-1) after 50 cycles. The reasons that the modified SnO2 film electrode shows excellent electrochemical properties were also discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.