Polyol-mediated synthesis of ultrafine tin oxide nanoparticles for reversible Li-ion storage

Abstract

A simple, cheap and versatile, polyol-mediated fabrication method has been extended to the synthesis of tin oxide nanoparticles on a large scale. Ultrafine SnO 2 nanoparticles with crystallite sizes of less than 5 nm were realized by refluxing SnCl 2 · 2H 2O in ethylene glycol at 195 °C for 4 h under vigorous stirring in air. The as-prepared SnO 2 nanoparticles exhibited enhanced Li-ion storage capability and cyclability, demonstrating a specific capacity of 400 mAh g −1 beyond 100 cycles.