Fe-doped SnO2 nanoparticles as new high capacity anode material for secondary lithium-ion batteries

Herein, Fe-doped tin oxide is presented for the first time as new high-capacity lithium-ion anode material. Pure SnO2, Fe-doped SnO2 (Sn0.9Fe0.1O2, SFO), and carbon-coated SFO (SFO-C) were synthesized and morphologically and electrochemically characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Brunauer–Emmet–Teller method, and galvanostatic (dis-)charge measurements. Doping SnO2 with Fe results in a substantially enhanced reversible specific capacity and coulombic efficiency. After ten cycles the reversible capacity of SFO-C was about 1519 mAh g−1, i.e., almost twice the specific capacity obtained for pure SnO2 (764 mAh g−1). Moreover, limiting the reversible capacity to 600 mAh g−1 shows the great potential of SFO-C for application in lithium-ion batteries.