Novel nanoarchitectured Zn2SnO4 anchored on porous carbon as high performance anodes for lithium ion batteries.

Two types of nanoarchitectured Zn 2 SnO 4 /C composites including Zn 2 SnO 4 /MC and Zn 2 SnO 4 /MC–rGO are hydrothermally synthesized in the presence of graphene oxide (GO) and/or a micro- and mesoporous carbon (MC), the building blocks are nanoplate jungles and urchin-like nanorod bundles of Zn 2 SnO 4 on surface of porous carbon, respectively. However, pure Zn 2 SnO 4 particles synthesized under the same condition exhibit a tetrakaidecahedral geometry. Apparently, the MC pores and l -tryptophan are not the only factors inducing the formation of the nanoarchitectures. A small cathodic peak is observed at ca. 0.7 V during the first cyclic voltammetry (CV) scan of Zn 2 SnO 4 /MC–rGO, indicating a trace amount of SnO 2 impurity that may attribute to the formation of nanorods other than nanoplates. The nanoarchitectured Zn 2 SnO 4 /C composites exhibit excellent high-rate capability and superior cycling performance as anode of lithium ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]