SnO2 nanorods grown on MCMB as the anode material for lithium ion battery

Chemical precipitation and hydrothermal reaction were adopted to prepare the SnO2 nanorods/MCMB composite. Firstly Mesophase carbon micro beads (MCMB) were treated by the mixture of concentrated sulphuric acid and nitric acid, and then deposited with a little amount of SnO2 though chemical precipitation to form the primitive SnO2/MCMB composite. In hydrothermal condition and at certain concentration of Na2SnO3, such primitive composite turned into the SnO2 nanorods/MCMB composite eventually. SEM figures showed that SnO2 nanorods grow on the surface of MCMB extensively; TEM and XRD characterization indicated SnO2 nanorods presenting good single crystalline structure with 50 nm in diameter and 400–500 nm in length. The following electrochemical performance showed that the final composite exhibited initial discharge capacity of 1321.25 mA h g−1. Reversible capacity of 505.8 mA h g−1 was observed after 50 discharge/charge cycles at the constant current density of 100 mA g−1 etc.