Formation of Uniform N-doped Carbon-Coated SnO2 Submicroboxes with Enhanced Lithium Storage Properties

Rational design and preparation of SnO2-based materials with superior electrochemical performance for lithium-ion batteries are highly desirable. In this work, the synthesis of SnO2/nitrogen-doped carbon (SnO2/NC) sub-microboxes with excellent lithium storage properties is reported. The as-synthesized SnO2/NC submicroboxes are highly porous with a high specific surface area of 125 m(2) g(-1), well-defined hollow structure (around 400 nm in size) with a shell thickness of 40 nm, and ultrasmall SnO2 nanoparticles uniformly coated with nitrogen-doped carbon layer. As a result, the SnO2/NC submicroboxes show outstanding electrochemical performance as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. A high reversible capacity of 491 mAh g(-1) can be retained after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1).