Preparation and properties of SnSb/C/DLC nanofibers with different precursors based on AP-PECVD

Abstract

In order to explore the morphology and improved electrochemical performance of diamond-like carbon (DLC) deposited on SnSb/C nanofiber derived from different precursors by the atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP-PECVD) technology. SnCl4•5H2O/SbCl3 (I), Sn(CH3COO)2/Sb(CH3COO)3 (II) were used as SnSb precursors, respectively, the SnSb/C nanofiber membranes were prepared by electrospinning and carbonization, and then DLC was deposited on different SnSb/C nanofibers to obtain SnSb/C/DLC nanofibers. It is shown that the densified and irregular cubic-like DLC nanoparticles were deposited on SnSb/C (I) nanofibers. While on the SnSb/C(II) nanofibers, DLC nanoparticles exhibited as sparse and spherical. Meanwhile, both SnSb/C/DLC nanofibers have good structural stability, especially higher sp3/sp2 ratios DLC was shown in the SnSb/C/DLC (I) nanofiber than that of SnSb/C/DLC (II) one. By comparison, SnSb/C/DLC(I) nanofibers have excellent electrochemical performance, the capacity retention is 69.33% after 100 cycles, and the capacity retention rate from 20 to 100 cycles is 109.24%. This reveals that DLC materials with higher C–C content and uniform distribution have a positive effect on the aspect of inhibiting SnSb alloys volume expansion.