Coating of SnO2-NiO nanoparticles with ultrathin graphite nanosheets as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Large capacity, high rate, and long-term cycling stabilities have always been pursued by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, the straightforward hydrothermal and high-speed ball milling programs were employed to create the SnO 2 -NiO-C anode material. NiO nanoparticles with unique hexagonal crystal structure are an ideal choice for ion cycling and embedding, which can stabilize the structure and prevent SnO 2 from becoming coarser. The graphite encapsulated in the outer layer can effectively prevent volume expansion during the cycling as well. From the research results, SnO 2 -NiO-C exhibits a significant reversible capacity of 1224.3 mAh g −1 after 300 cycles at 0.2 A g −1 , and after the fourth cycle, the coulombic efficiency remains above 97%. And it also possesses a long-term cycling stability of 820.1 mAh g −1 after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g −1 . Also, a significant rate property can reach 507.1 mAh g −1 even at 5.0 A g −1 . Therefore, the SnO 2 -NiO-C anode material for LIBs is promising because of its excellent electrochemical performance.