Ultrafine Sn nanocrystals in a hierarchically porous N-doped carbon for lithium ion batteries

We report a simple method of preparing a high performance,Sn-based anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs).Adding H2O2 to an aqueous solution containing Sn2+ and aniline results in simultaneous polymerization of aniline and oxidation of Sn2+ to SnO2,leading to a homogeneous composite of polyaniline and SnO2.Hydrogen thermal reduction of the above composite yields N-doped carbon with hierarchical porosity and homogeneously distributed,ultrafine Sn particles.The nanocomposite exhibits excellent performance as an anode material for lithium ion batteries,showing a high reversible specific capacity of 788 mAh·g-1 at a current density of 100 mA·g-1 after 300 cycles and very good stability up to 5,000 mA·g-1.The simple preparation method combined with the good electrochemical performance is highly promising to promote the application of Sn based anode materials.