Tin Oxide Dispersed Electrostatically Connected Hybrid Composite of 1D-2D Carbon Nanomaterials as Anode for High Performance Li Ion Battery Application

Here we report tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles decorated hybrid structure of 1-D carbon nanotubes and 2-D graphene sheets as an efficient anode material for Li ion battery. Anion functionalized carbon nanotubes electrostatically linked in between cationic polyelectrolyte modified graphene sheets was used as the support material. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms the formation of SnO2 over the desired well attached electrostatically connected graphene and carbon nanotubes (EGC) composition. Strongly linked EGC gives the breathing space to accommodate the volume change occurring due to lithiation/delithiation process for the decorated SnO2 nanoparticles, with less resistance. SnO2/EGC shows better performance of 540 mAh g(-1) specific capacity at 100 mA g(-1) current density after 75th cycle compared to the reported values of SnO2 over only carbon nanotubes or graphene, contributing to the well connected buffer structure of graphene and carbon nanotubes, providing the arena for uniform dispersion of SnO2.