Preparation and superior electrochemical performance of hollow SnO2@C composites as anode materials for high-performance lithium ion batteries

SnO 2 -based composites have drawn much attention as anode materials for lithium ion batteries due to their high specific capacity. However, they also suffer from rapid capacity fading, which is attributed the poor electronic conductivity and severe volume change. Therefore, it is important to enhance the electronic conductivity and inhibit the volume change at the same time. Based on this theme, herein, hollow SnO 2 @C composites with perfect structure and high electronic conductivity are synthesized and used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The as-prepared hollow SnO 2 @C composites exhibit high initial specific capacity of 1628 mAh g −1 at 0.1C. The superior electrochemical performance is due to the hollow sphere structure of hollow SnO 2 @C composites, which could provide novel synthetic method for improving electronic conductivity and buffer the volume change.