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 SnO 2 /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 SnO 2 -NiO nanofibers had “hairy-like” particles and pores on the fiber strands. The nanofiber preparation process involved FS the Sn/PAN and SnO 2 /NiO/PAN precursors into nanofibers and subsequently stabilizing in air at 280 o C and calcination at 800 o C 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 SnO 2 /NiO/C and Sn/C electrodes showed a comparable cycle performance of about 675 mAhg -1 after 100 cycles. However, the SnO 2 /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.