A facile one-pot synthesis of ultrafine Sn/N-doped carbon/graphene oxide composite for superior lithium-ion storage

Metallic Sn is considered as a promising candidate of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high capacity and ease of preparation. However, it undergoes severe mechanical damage after several lithiation/delithiation cycles due to the large volume change (∼300%). In this study, ultrafine Sn nanograins are embedded in N-doped amorphous carbon and then anchored onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via a facile one-pot synthesis route. The resulting composite consists of highly active Sn nanograins, three-dimensional carbon frameworks and highly conductive graphene oxide matrices. This unique configuration endows the composite with promising electrochemical performance. It delivers a reversible capacity of 1392 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 50 mA g⁻¹. When cycled after 300 times at 500 mA g⁻¹, it still maintains a reversible capacity of 805 mAh g⁻¹.