SnO2/NiO/Carbon Composite Nanofibers Produced By Forcespinning of Poly Acrylonitrile /SnO2 Precursor As Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

The development of alternative anode materials out of flexible nanofibers has seen a growing interest. In this paper, binary carbon nanofiber electrodes of SnO2/NiO and Tin nanoparticles are produced using a scalable technique, Forcespinning (FS) and subsequent thermal treatment (calcination). The Sn/C nanofibers were porous and flexible, while the SnO2-NiO nanofibers had “hairy-like” particles and pores on the fiber strands. The nanofiber preparation process involved FS the Sn/PAN and SnO2/NiO/PAN precursors into nanofibers and subsequently stabilizing in air at 280oC and calcination at 800oC under an inert atmosphere. The flexible composite nanofibers were directly used as working electrode in lithium-ion batteries without a current collector, conducting additives, or binder. The electrochemical performance of the SnO2/NiO/C and Sn/C electrodes showed a comparable cycle performance of about 675 mAhg-1 after 100 cycles. However, the SnO2/NiO/C electrode exhibited a better rate performance than Sn/C anode and was able to recover its capacity after charging with a higher current density. The synthesis and processing methods used to produce these nanofibers clearly was a factor for the high rate capability and excellent cyclic performance of these binary composite electrodes, largely on the account of the unique structure and properties of the composite nanofibers.