Synthesis of sandwich like structured Sn/SnOx@MXene composite through in situ growth for highly reversible lithium storage
Abstract This study presents a nanostructured Sn/SnOx@Ti3C2 composite by in situ growth of Sn/SnOx nanoparticles on the interlayer of 2D MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets through facile electrostatic attraction and liquid phase reduction. X ray diffraction, X ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy results illustrate that Sn/SnOx nanoparticles are uniformly distributed into the MXene (Ti3C2Tx) interlayer, forming a sandwich like nanostructured composite. MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets suppress Sn/SnOx nanoparticles' volume expansion and agglomeration and accelerate the Li ion and electron transition due to the distinguished confinement effect and excellent graphite like layered structure. Furthermore, Sn/SnOx nanoparticles are embedded as pillars to enhance the longitudinal structural stability of MXene matrix by preventing the re stacking of nanosheets during lithium insertion/extraction. The nanosized particles still reduce lithium migration path and increase active areas. Therefore, the Sn/SnOx@Ti3C2 composite maintains 594.2 mAh g 1 after 200 cycles with a capacity recovery after 100 cycles. The synergistic effect of Sn/SnOx on MXene facilitates Sn/SnOx@Ti3C2 nanostructures, thereby exhibiting excellent electrochemical properties for lithium ion batteries.
Nano Energy