Study of Co–Sn and Ni–Sn alloys prepared in molten chlorides and used as negative electrode in rechargeable lithium battery

Ni3Sn2 and several Co–Sn alloys prepared by electrodeposition in molten LiCl–KCl were studied as anode materials in rechargeable Li-ion battery. In the case of Ni3Sn2, the charge–discharge curves do not exhibit any plateau in contrast with Co–Sn alloys. For Ni3Sn2, the reversible capacity and the coulombic efficiency tend to constant values of about 225 mAh/g and 85%, respectively, after subsequent cycles. Among the studied Co–Sn alloys, the best electrochemical performances was observed when CoSn2 was used as anode material: the reversible capacity and the coulombic efficiency observed after 60 cycles were about 530 mAh/g and 96%, respectively. Whatever the alloys, SEM investigations performed before and after cycling do not reveal any significant difference between the original material and the cycled material, indicating a good stability of the electrodeposited films upon cycling.