Facile and surfactant-free synthesis of SnO2-graphene hybrids as high performance anode for lithium-ion batteries

A facile microwave-assisted ethylene glycol method is developed to synthesize the SnO2 nanoparticles dispersed on or encapsulated in reduced graphene oxide (SnO2-rGO) hybrids. The morphology, structure, and composition of SnO2-rGO are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, thermo-gravimetric analyzer, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical performance of SnO2-rGO as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries was tested by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling, and rate capability test. It is found that the SnO2 nanoparticles with a uniform distribution have p-type doping effect with rGO nanosheets. The as-prepared SnO2-rGO hybrids exhibit remarkable lithium storage capacity and cycling stability, and the possible mechanism involved is also discussed. Their capacity is 1222 mAhg−1 in the first cycle and maintains at 700 mAhg−1 after 100 cycles. This good performance can be mainly attributed to the unique nanostructure, good structure stability, more space for volume expansion of SnO2, and mass transfer of Li+ during cycling.