Large-scale synthesis of macroporous SnO2 with/without carbon and their application as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

The macroporous SnO2 is prepared using close packed carbonaceous sphere template which synthesized from glucose by hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the macroporous SnO2 are evaluated by XRD and FE-SEM. The average pore size of the macroporous SnO2 is about 190 nm and its wall thickness is less than 10 nm. When the macroporous SnO2 filled with carbon is used as an anode material for lithium-ion battery, the capacity is about 380 mAh g−1 after 70 cycles. The improved cyclability is attributed to the carbon matrix which is used as an effective physical buffer to prevent the collapse of the well dispersed macroporous SnO2.

► A new hard template prepared from glucose was used to synthesize macroporous SnO2.
► SnO2 and SnO2/C were prepared in a simple and large-scale synthetic method.
► Combining the nanostructure design and active/inactive nanocomposite concept.
► The obtained SnO2/C composite exhibited superior cycling performance.