Highly reversible lithium storage in porous SnO2 nanotubes with coaxially grown carbon nanotube overlayers

Abstract

A new SnO2-C composite structure, namely porous SnO2 with coaxially grown CNT overlayers, was obtained by a two-step template deposition method. The new method made use of confined-space deposition to form a uniform CNT skin over performed porous SnO2 nanotubes. The SnO 2-C nanocomposite exhibited highly reversible capacity and excellent cyclability in lithium-ion storage and retrieval, making it suitable as an active anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The SnO2-core/ carbon-shell nanotubes were found to contain 73.3 wt.% SnO2, as determined using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy.