Ultrasmall Sn Nanoparticles Embedded in Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon As High-Performance Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: Nano letters 2014-01, Vol.14 (1), p.153-157
• Main Authors: Zhu, Zhiqiang, Wang, Shiwen, Du, Jing, Jin, Qi, Zhang, Tianran, Cheng, Fangyi, Chen, Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anodes; Applied sciences; Carbon; Chemical synthesis methods; Contact; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Current density; Direct energy conversion and energy accumulation; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electrical power engineering; Electrochemical conversion: primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells; Exact sciences and technology; Lithium-ion batteries; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Networks; Physics; Tin
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl403631h

In this Letter, we reported on the preparation and Li-ion battery anode application of ultrasmall Sn nanoparticles (∼5 nm) embedded in nitrogen-doped porous carbon network (denoted as 5-Sn/C). Pyrolysis of Sn(Salen) at 650 °C under Ar atmosphere was carried out to prepare N-doped porous 5-Sn/C with the BET specific surface area of 286.3 m2 g–1. The 5-Sn/C showed an initial discharge capacity of 1014 mAh g–1 and a capacity retention of 722 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles at the current density of 0.2 A g–1. Furthermore, a reversible capacity of ∼480 mAh g–1 was obtained at much higher current density of 5 A g–1. The remarkable electrochemical performance of 5-Sn/C was attributed to the effective combination of ultrasmall Sn nanoparticles, uniform distribution, and porous carbon network structure, which simultaneously solved the major problems of pulverization, loss of electrical contact, and particle aggregation facing Sn anode.