Al-doped SnO2 hollow sphere as a novel anode material for lithium ion battery

• Al-doped SnO2 hollow sphere powder was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method.
• Al-doped SnO2 hollow sphere powder exhibits much improved electrochemical properties.
• The improvement is attributed to the increased electronic and ionic conductivities.

SnO2 hollow spheres are doped with different contents of Al (1, 1.5, 2 at.%) by a one-step hydrothermal reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) are utilized to characterize the structures, components, chemical environments, morphologies and specific areas of the as-prepared samples. The investigation in cycling performances demonstrates that 1.5 at.% Al-doped SnO2 hollow spheres exhibit the best cycling stability, with a specific capacity of 443 mAh g− 1 and coulombic efficiency of 99.1% after 50 cycles at 0.1 C, much higher than those of the pristine SnO2 hollow spheres and the other Al-doped samples. The improved electrochemical performances of Al-doped SnO2 hollow spheres are attributed to the increase of electronic conductivity and lithium ion diffusion coefficient, and therefore, enhance the reversible capacity and cycling properties.