Electrochemical performance of SnO2/modified graphite composite material as anode of lithium ion battery

In this report, we synthesized SnO2/modified graphite anode composite material by a simple reflux method using SnCl4·5H2O as tin source and modified graphite as carbon source. The as-obtained composite was investigated with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and galvanostatic cycling tests. The results show that the composite has a wave-shaped fold structure and the SnO2 nanoparticles on it have an average size of about 50 nm. Compared to pure modified graphite, the SnO2/modified graphite exhibits a better electrochemical performance with a reversible specific capacity of 581.7 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles, owing to high mechanical stress and elasticity of modified graphite could hinder the volume effect of SnO2 nanoparticles during the Li+ insertion/extraction process. All these favourable characters reveal that the composite is a great potential anode material in high-performance lithium ion batteries.