Hierarchical porous SnO2/Mn2O3 core/shell microspheres as advanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Novel hierarchical porous SnO 2 /Mn 2 O 3 core-shell microspheres (SMCM) are successfully prepared by wet chemistry method to grow SnO 2 shell on the pre-obtained Mn 2 O 3 microsphere core. As a result, these SnO 2 /Mn 2 O 3 core-shell microspheres exhibit superior electrochemical performances as the advanced anode materials. Especially, the porous SnO 2 /Mn 2 O 3 core-shell microspheres could exhibit high initial discharge capacity of 1365 mA h g −1 and maintain a reversible capacity of 486 mA h g −1 even after 400 cycles at 200 mA g −1 . The unique structural features of the porous, quasi-hollow structure comprised of interconnected nano-sized particles and the peculiar synergistic effect of SnO 2 /Mn 2 O 3 are probably responsible for the enhanced performance.