The synthesis of tin and carbon based, graphene rainforced free anode electrodes and applicability of lithium-ion batteries

In the world, that has become a global field with rapid developments in technology in recent years, the need for energy is increasing dayby day. Since the beginning of civilization, energy resources have been continuously increased to provide a regular and comfortable life standard, and resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy and solar energy have been used as energy resources. At the nano level, there are areas of increased interest due to the rapid development of science and technology, the characterization and application of nano structures in different forms, and the availability of many features not available from massive fragments. In the field of nanotechnology, Li-ion batteries for portable electronics devices in recent years have begun to become major mainstream power sources that are widely used with the ability to recharge. Although graphite as anode material for Li-ion batteries is widely used commercially, higher performance materials continue to be explored around the world. For example, tin is one of the most researched potential anode materials because of it has approximately three times the capacity of graphite. Therefor, Li-ion batteries are believed to be one of the brighest future power sources for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles in recent years. In this study, a "yolk-shel" structure for a stabilized and scalable tin anode is designed. Tin nanoparticles (~30-130 nm) as the "yolk" were produced through a facile chemical reduction synthesis method. The surfaces of the tin based nanoparticles firstly coated with a SiO2 sacrificial layer and the obtained composite nano Sn@SiO2 particles were subjected to microwave hydrothermal carburization and inert gas carburization in order to obtain the shell structure. The as-synthesized nanocomposite particles were then subsuquently treated with hydrofluoric acid in order to selectively remove the SiO2 sacrificial layer and the Sn@C yolk-shell structure is obtained. Graphene based freestanding electrodes were then obtained through a facile vacuum filtration technique. The electrochemical properties of the nanostructured Sn, Sn@C/yolk-shell and rGO@Sn@C/yolk-shell free standing electrodes were investigated in detail.