Facile synthesis of three-dimensional reinforced Sn@polyaniline/sodium alginate nanofiber hydrogel network for high performance lithium-ion battery

Abstract

An innovative three-dimensional (3D) Sn@ polyaniline (PANI)/sodium alginate (SA) nanofiber hydrogel is designed as high performance anode for lithium-ion batteries. The nanofiber conductive hydrogel was successfully synthesized via in situ polymerization of aniline in an aqueous solution of Sn nanoparticles (NPs) and SA. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the morphology of Sn@PANI/SA. It was found that the 3D porous nanofiber hydrogel network was generated by the entanglement of PANI and SA chains and Sn NPs were embedded homogeneously inside. Because there are strong hydrogen bonding interactions between PANI and SA, SA has a remarkable reinforcement effect on PANI. And Sn@PANI/SA electrode exhibits more stable structure and better electrochemical performance than the Sn@PANI electrode. The galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles exhibit better reversible capacity (616 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles), more excellent rate capability and higher coulomb efficiency than those of the Sn@PANI electrodes indicating that such a reinforced hydrogel network has great application values on the anode materials of lithium-ion battery.