Solution combustion synthesis of porous Sn–C composite as anode material for lithium ion batteries

• Sn–C composite was prepared via MgO template-assisted solution combustion synthesis.
• The effects of ratios of glycine and MgO were mainly investigated.
• Synthesized porous Sn–C composite enhanced cyclic stability as anode material.

In this study, a Sn–C composite material as anode material for lithium ion batteries was fabricated via MgO template-assisted solution combustion synthesis, in which the starting material was a gel containing Sn(NO3)2, glycine (C2H5O2N) as the carbon source, and Mg(NO3)2·6H2O for the template. After the combustion reaction, the generated MgO was removed from the carbon, and the Sn nanoparticles were dispersed into a porous carbon structure during the carbon reduction of SnO2 under calcination in N2. The effects of ratios of glycine (n) and MgO (m) on the material phase, morphology, carbon content, and electrochemical properties were mainly investigated. At glycine (n) ratios of 2 and 3, the SnO2 phase was not fully reduced to Sn. With n > 3, a composite material of metallic Sn nanoparticles and carbon was synthesized, in which the ratio of carbon increased with increasing n. With increasing m, the porosity of the particles increased, resulting in enhanced cyclic stability owing to the buffer space provided by the porous structure of carbon. The composite material obtained at n = 4 and m = 4 exhibited the highest reversible capacity of 588 mA h/g after 100 discharge/charge cycles at a current rate of 0.5 A/g as compared to the 269 mA h/g observed for n = 4 and m = 2.

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