Superior Capacity Retention Sn–Ni–Fe–C Composite Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Sn–Ni–Fe–C composite anodes have been synthesized by a mechanochemical reaction of Sn with Ni–C and Fe–C composites and characterized. The Sn–Ni–Fe–C composite consisting of nanostructured , , and SnFe along with carbon exhibits excellent capacity retention with a capacity of over . X-ray diffraction characterization of the electrodes reveals that while decomposes completely during the lithiation process, both and SnFe decompose only partially. The enhanced capacity retention of Sn–Ni–Fe–C compared to that of Sn is attributed to the buffering effect provided by and SnFe and their effectiveness in suppressing the Sn grain growth during cycling.