A Direct Route to Prepare Graphene/Tin Oxide Nanocomposites with Superior Electrochemical Properties As a Lithium-Ion Battery Anode

A facile direct hybridization route to prepare SnO₂/graphene nanocomposites for electrode application is demonstrated. Uniformly distribution of SnO₂ nanoparticles on the graphene layers is enabled by one-step, hydrothermal reaction. While XRS result clearly indicates the crystalline nature of SnO₂, TGA, TEM, SEM and galvanostatic analysis are perforemed to determine the optimized SnO₂ content in nanocomposite. The nanocomposite anode with SnO₂ content of 70.3 wt% retained the reversible capacity of 643.6 mAh/g after 50 cycles and high discharge capacity of 347.8 mAh/g at current density of 3000 mA/g. Taking advantage of nano-sized SnO₂ and electron conductive and mechanically flexible graphene layer, the SnO₂/graphene nanocomposites with the optimized SnO­₂ content exhibit excellent electrochemical properties as lithium-ion battery anode.