Preparation and electrochemical performance of highly dispersed Sn–Zn–O composite system

A novel nanosized Sn–Zn–O composite system as anode materials in lithium ion batteries has been prepared by partial solid-state reduction. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques, and the performance of the electrode was investigated. The Sn–Zn–O electrode was found to have a gravimetric charge capacity of 640 mAh g−1, which is twice larger than that of graphite electrode. Although the Sn–Zn–O electrode exhibited poor cycle life, the performance could be improved significantly if the Sn–Zn–O was sintered at 800 °C, which showed a larger reversible capacity of 771 mAh g−1 and a better performance on the reversibility at the first cycle.