Toward Tin-Based High- Capacity Anode for Lithium-ion Battery

Electrochemical deposition of SnCo alloys inside the nanometric pores of commercial membranes is described. Composition, morphology and crystallographic structure of the synthesized nanostructured alloys are reported as well as the results of electrochemical tests carried out both in half-cell and in full battery configuration to investigate the performance of these SnCo alloys as anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Optimized depositions yielded nanostructured alloys that performed 200 deep galvanostatic cycles at C/2 and 30 °C with 80 % capacity retention and coulombic efficiency higher than 97 % after 40 cycles Moreover, charge-discharge rate capability tests showed the high performance of these SnCo alloys at high C-rate such as 10C. Tests of SnCo alloys in battery configuration against LiFePO4 cathode are also reported.