Electrospun Ni-added SnO ₂-carbon nanofiber composite anode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

The SnO ₂ anode is a promising anode for next-generation Li ion batteries because of its high theoretical capacity. However, it exhibits inherent capacity fading because of the large volume change and pulverization that occur during the charge/discharge cycles. The buffer matrix, such as electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs), can alleviate this problem to some extent, but SnO ₂ particles are thermodynamically incompatible with the carbon matrix such that large Sn agglomerates form after carbonization upon melting of the Sn. Herein, we introduce well-dispersed nanosized SnO ₂ attached to CNFs for high-performance anodes developed by Ni presence. The addition of Ni increases the stability of the SnO ₂ such that the morphologies of the dispersed SnO ₂ phase are modified as a function of the Ni composition. The optimal adding composition is determined to be Ni:Sn = 10:90 wt % in terms of the crystallite size and the distribution uniformity. A high capacity retention of 447.6 mA h g ^-1 after 100 cycles can be obtained for 10 wt % Ni-added SnO ₂-CNFs, whereas Ni-free Sn/SnO ₂-CNFs have a capacity retention of 304.6 mA h g ^-1.