Self-assembly of novel hierarchical flowers-like Sn3O4 decorated on 2D graphene nanosheets hybrid as high-performance anode materials for LIBs

Novel hierarchical flower-like Sn3O4 assembled by thin Sn3O4 nanosheets, as a kind of mixed-valence tin oxide, decorated on two-dimensional graphene nanosheets has been synthesized via a hydrothermal route and a step solution deoxidization technique. More importantly, as the anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the flower-like Sn3O4/graphene composite has not been investigated in detail. Noticeably, the nanosheets stemming from flower-like Sn3O4 and graphene have been linked together to form a specials three dimensional structure, possessing high active surface area and large enough inner spaces, which is benefit to the diffusion of liquid electrolyte into the electrode materials. In addition, the special structure could provide sufficient free volume to buffer the volume expansion appeared in the process of discharging and charging. The as-prepared flowers-like Sn3O4/graphene displayed excellent electrochemical performance with high capacity and good cycling stability as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The discharge capacity is 1727 mAh/g in the first cycle at the current density of 60 mA/g. The obtained reversible capacity is 631mAh/g with a coulomb efficiency of 97.04% after 50 cycles. With its better electrochemical properties, the as-prepared flowers-like Sn3O4/graphene has the potential to be the next generation materials as an environmentally benign, abundant, cheap anode materials for lithium ion batteries.