Sn-based composite materials were synthetized by a conventional melt-quenching method, and studied by X-ray diffraction, electrochemistry and in situ119Sn Mösssbauer spectroscopy. Tin was dispersed ex situ into a matrix formed from B2O3:P2O5. XRD and 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy show the formation of an interface between the active species (Sn0) and the matrix. This amorphous interface acts as a “buffer-zone” which compensates volume changes during the tin–lithium alloy formation and avoids aggregation of tin particles.
