Electrochemical Reaction of Lithium with Nanocrystalline CoSn[sub 3]

Crystalline particles with a nanometric size and a cubic shape of Co Sn 3 have been prepared at a low temperature. The observed maximum reversible capacity in lithium test cells was 690 mAh g − 1 . This capacity value is higher than that previously shown by other crystalline Co Sn x intermetallic compounds with a lower tin content. The reaction of lithium with Co Sn 3 yields first to a lithium insertion into Co Sn 3 and second to the irreversible formation of a metallic glass, as studied using X-ray diffraction and Sn 119 Mössbauer spectroscopy.