Abstract
Interconnected fullerene-like carbon nanofibers encapsulated with tin nanoparticles (Sn@FLCNFs) were synthesized by a facile and scalable electrospinning method using fullerene-like carbon nanoparticles and PVP as carbon sources. SEM and TEM revealed that Sn nanoparticles have been uniformly embedded into the nanofibers. The self-supported Sn@FLCNFs could be directly used as an anode of lithium-ion battery without adding any polymer and binder; it showed a high initial coulombic efficiency. A reversible capacity as high as 846 mA h g−1 remained after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g−1. When the current density was raised to 1 A g−1, the reversible capacity maintained 656 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the formation of the efficient Li-ions diffusion paths and highly conductive cross-linked network in the Sn@FLCNFs electrode, and the interconnected carbon framework can prevent the Sn nanoparticles from pulverization and re-aggregation during cycles.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armand M, Tarascon JM (2008) Building better batteries. Nature 451:652–657
Bruce PG, Scrosati B, Tarascon J-M (2008) Nanomaterials for rechargeable lithium batteries. Angew Chem Int Ed 47:2930–2946
Kasavajjula U, Wang C, Appleby AJ (2007) Nano- and bulk-silicon-based insertion anodes for lithium-ion secondary cells. J Power Sour 163:1003–1039
Ji L, Lin Z, Alcoutlabi M (2011) Recent developments in nanostructured anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Energ Environ Sci 4:2682–2699
Sun X, Hao G-P, Lu X (2016) High-defect hydrophilic carbon cuboids anchored with Co/CoO nanoparticles as highly efficient and ultra-stable lithium-ion battery anodes. J Mater Chem A 4:10166–10173
Winter M, Besenhard JO (1999) Electrochemical lithiation of tin and tin-based intermetallics and composites. Electrochim Acta 45:31–50
Zhang W-M, Hu J-S, Guo Y-G (2008) Tin-nanoparticles encapsulated in elastic hollow carbon spheres for high-performance anode material in lithium-ion batteries. Adv Mater 20:1160–1165
Xu Y, Liu Q, Zhu Y (2013) Uniform nano-Sn/C composite anodes for lithium ion batteries. Nano Lett 13:470–474
Shen Z, Hu Y, Chen Y (2016) Controllable synthesis of carbon-coated Sn–SnO2–carbon-nanofiber membrane as advanced binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries. Electrochim Acta 188:661–670
Kravchyk K, Protesescu L, Bodnarchuk MI (2013) Monodisperse and inorganically capped Sn and Sn/SnO2 nanocrystals for high-performance Li-ion battery anodes. J Am Chem Soc 135:4199–4202
Qin J, He C, Zhao N (2014) Graphene networks anchored with Sn@Graphene as lithium ion battery anode. ACS Nano 8:1728–1738
Derrien G, Hassoun J, Panero S (2007) Nanostructured Sn–C Composite as an advanced anode material in high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Adv Mater 19:2336–2340
Yu Y, Gu L, Wang C (2009) Encapsulation of Sn@carbon nanoparticles in bamboo-like hollow carbon nanofibers as an anode material in lithium-based batteries. Angew Chem Int Edit 48:6485–6489
Yu Y, Gu L, Zhu C (2009) Tin nanoparticles encapsulated in porous multichannel carbon microtubes: preparation by single-nozzle electrospinning and application as anode material for high-performance Li-based batteries. J Am Chem Soc 131:15984–15985
Guo J, Yang Z, Archer LA (2013) Aerosol assisted synthesis of hierarchical tin-carbon composites and their application as lithium battery anode materials. J Mater Chem A 1:8710–8715
Hassoun J, Derrien G, Panero S (2008) A nanostructured Sn–C composite lithium battery electrode with unique stability and high electrochemical performance. Adv Mater 20:3169–3175
Sun X, Wang X, Qin Y (2012) Synthesis of novel pompon-like porous SnO2 and its application in lithium-ion battery. Mater Lett 66:193–195
Liu CK, Lai K, Liu W (2009) Preparation of carbon nanofibres through electrospinning and thermal treatment. Polym Int 58:1341–1349
Yu Y, Yang Q, Teng D (2010) Reticular Sn nanoparticle-dispersed PAN-based carbon nanofibers for anode material in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Electrochem Commun 12:1187–1190
Zhou X, Wan LJ, Guo YG (2013) Electrospun silicon nanoparticle/porous carbon hybrid nanofibers for lithium-ion batteries. Small 9:2684–2688
Qiao L, Sun X, Yang Z (2013) Network structures of fullerene-like carbon core/nano-crystalline silicon shell nanofibers as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Carbon 54:29–35
Zhang G, Zhu J, Zeng W (2014) Tin quantum dots embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers as excellent anode for lithium-ion batteries. Nano Energ 9:61–70
Hwang J, Woo SH, Shim J (2013) One-pot synthesis of tin-embedded carbon/silica nanocomposites for anode materials in lithium-ion batteries. ACS Nano 7:1036–1044
Tan Z, Sun Z, Wang H (2013) Fabrication of porous Sn-C composites with high initial coulomb efficiency and good cyclic performance for lithium ion batteries. J Mater Chem A 1:9462–9468
Zhang N, Zhao Q, Han X (2014) Pitaya-like Sn@C nanocomposites as high-rate and long-life anode for lithium-ion batteries. Nanoscale 6:2827–2832
Shen Z, Hu Y, Chen Y (2015) Tin nanoparticle-loaded porous carbon nanofiber composite anodes for high current lithium-ion batteries. J Power Sour 278:660–667
Youn DH, Heller A, Mullins CB (2016) Simple synthesis of nanostructured Sn/nitrogen-doped carbon composite using nitrilotriacetic acid as lithium ion battery anode. Chem Mater 28:1343–1347
Zhang Y, Jiang L, Wang C (2015) Preparation of a porous Sn@C nanocomposite as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Nanoscale 7:11940–11944
Wang X, Li X, Sun X (2011) Nanostructured NiO electrode for high rate Li-ion batteries. J Mater Chem 21:3571–3573
Laruelle S, Grugeon S, Poizot P (2002) On the origin of the extra electrochemical capacity displayed by MO/Li cells at low potential. J Electrochem Soc 149:A627–A634
Fan L, Zhang J, Zhu Y (2014) Comparison between SnSb-C and Sn-C composites as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. RSC Adv 4:62301–62307
Acknowledgements
The project was financially supported by the Chunhui Program of Ministry of Education, China (Grant No. Z2014015), and the Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province, China (Grant No. 2016-ZJ-934Q).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qiao, L., Qiao, L., Li, X. et al. Synthesis and lithium storage properties of interconnected fullerene-like carbon nanofibers encapsulated with tin nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 52, 6969–6975 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-0929-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-0929-5