Novel Carbon-Encapsulated Porous SnO2 Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Much Improved Cyclic Stability.

Porous SnO2 submicrocubes (SMCs) are synthesized by annealing and HNO3 etching of CoSn(OH)6 SMCs. Bare SnO2 SMCs, as well as bare commercial SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs), show very high initial discharge capacity when used as anode material for lithium-ion batteries. However, during the following cycles most of the Li ions previously inserted cannot be extracted, resulting in considerable irreversibility. Porous SnO2 cubes have been proven to possess better electrochemical performance than the dense nanoparticles. After being encapsulated by carbon shell, the obtained yolk-shell SnO2 SMCs@C exhibits significantly enhanced reversibility for lithium-ions storage. The reversibility of the conversion between SnO2 and Sn, which is largely responsible for the enhanced capacity, has been discussed. The porous SnO2 SMCs@C shows much increased capacity and cycling stability, demonstrating that the porous SnO2 core is essential for better lithium-ion storage performance. The strategy introduced in this paper can be used as a versatile way to fabrication of various metal-oxide-based composites.

Formation of interfacial layer and long-term cyclability of Li-O2 batteries.

The long-term operation of Li-O2 batteries under full discharge/charge conditions is investigated in a glyme-based electrolyte. The formation of stable interfacial layer on the electrode surface during the initial cycling stabilizes reaction products at subsequent cycling stages as demonstrated by quantitative analyses of the discharge products and the gases released during charging. There is a quick switch from the predominant formation of Li2O2 to the predominant formation of side products during the first few cycles. However, after the formation of the stable interfacial layer, the yield of Li2O2 in the reaction products is stabilized at about 33-40%. Extended cycling under full discharge/charge conditions is achievable upon selection of appropriate electrode materials (carbon source and catalyst) and cycling protocol. Further investigation on the interfacial layer, which in situ forms on air electrode, may increase the long-term yield of Li2O2 during the cycling and enable highly reversible Li-O2 batteries required for practical applications.