Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Metal Ion Doping in SnO2 Negative Electrodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

•SnO2 nanomaterials were synthesized in a continuous hydrothermal process.•Transition metal ions were doped into SnO2 in the range 6 to 10 at%.•All nanopowders showed similarly high surface areas of ca. 102 m2 g−1.•Redox-inactive dopants did not improve the overall capacity vs. undoped SnO2.•Some possibly redox-active dopants showed additional stored capacity.

Nine different transition metal doped (<10 at%) tin dioxides and undoped SnO2 nanopowders with similar specific surface areas were made using a continuous hydrothermal process and then investigated as potential negative electrode materials for lithium ion batteries. The as-prepared nanopowders were characterized via a range of analytical techniques including powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements. Doped SnO2 materials were grouped into two classes according to the potential redox activity of the dopant (those presumed to be redox inactive: Nb, Ti, Zr; and those presumed to be redox active: Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni). The role of the transition metal ion dopant on the cycling performance (overall capacity and voltage hysteresis), was elucidated for the first cycle via cyclic voltammetry measurements in half cells versus lithium metal. In particular, the authors were able to evaluate whether the initial Coulombic efficiency and the delithiation potential (vs. Li/Li+) of the doped samples, would be likely to offer any increased energy density (compared to undoped SnO2) for lithium ion batteries.

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