Coating of SnO2-NiO nanoparticles with ultrathin graphite nanosheets as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Large capacity, high rate, and long-term cycling stabilities have always been pursued by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, the straightforward hydrothermal and high-speed ball milling programs were employed to create the SnO2-NiO-C anode material. NiO nanoparticles with unique hexagonal crystal structure are an ideal choice for ion cycling and embedding, which can stabilize the structure and prevent SnO2 from becoming coarser. The graphite encapsulated in the outer layer can effectively prevent volume expansion during the cycling as well. From the research results, SnO2-NiO-C exhibits a significant reversible capacity of 1224.3 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, and after the fourth cycle, the coulombic efficiency remains above 97%. And it also possesses a long-term cycling stability of 820.1 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g−1. Also, a significant rate property can reach 507.1 mAh g−1 even at 5.0 A g−1. Therefore, the SnO2-NiO-C anode material for LIBs is promising because of its excellent electrochemical performance.