High quality NMP exfoliated graphene nanosheet―SnO2 composite anode material for lithium ion battery

A graphene nanosheet-SnO(2) (GNS-SnO(2)) composite is prepared using N-methylpyrrolidone as a solvent to exfoliate graphene from graphite bar with the aid of CTAB by single phase co-precipitation method. The synthesized composites has been characterised physically by powder XRD which confirms the formation of the composite tetragonal SnO(2) crystal system with the low intense broad 002 plane for GNS. The sandwiched morphology of GNS-SnO(2) and the formation of nanosized particles (around 20 nm) have been confirmed by SEM and TEM images. The presence of sp(2) carbon in the GNS is clear by the highly intense G than D band in laser Raman spectroscopy analysis; furthermore, a single chemical shift has been observed at 132.14 ppm from solid-state (13)C NMR analysis. The synthesized composite has been electrochemically characterized using charge-discharge and EIS analysis. The capacity retentions at the end of the first 10 cycles is 57% (100 mA g(-1) rate), the second 10 cycles is 77.83% (200 mA g(-1)), and the final 10 cycles (300 mA g(-1)) is 81.5%. Moreover the impedance analysis clearly explains the low resistance pathway for Li(+) insertion after 30 cycles when compared with the initial cycle. This superior characteristic of GNS-SnO(2) composite suggests that it is a promising candidate for lithium ion battery anode.