One-pot environment-friendly synthesis of boron doped graphene-SnO<inf>2</inf> for anodic performance in Li ion battery

High specific capacity, availability of tin oxide (SnO2) and improved electrical conductivity and rate capability of boron-doped graphene sheets (BG) promises the composite of the two as a potential anode material for Li ion battery. We report for the first time, one-pot synthesis of SnO2 dispersed boron-doped few layer graphene (SnO2/BG-I) in an environment friendly, hazardous-harmful reducing agent free, hydrogen assisted reduction technique in comparison to complicated two-step conventional process. In addition, a two-step, wet chemical free, greener approach is also employed to achieve SnO2 nanoparticles over BG support (SnO2/BG-II). Both the materials as anode showed enhanced performance compared to un-doped graphene supported SnO2 nanoparticles (SnO2/G). One-pot synthesized SnO2/BG-I as anode in Li ion battery shows comparable performance with a reversible capacity of 348 mAh g−1 at a current density 200 mA g−1, while SnO2/BG-II with higher amount of boron doping, exhibits higher stability over cycles with an excellent reversible capacity of 558 mAh g−1 due to the uniform distribution of SnO2 over boron-doped graphene sheets.