Enhanced electrochemical performance of Sn-Co nanoarchitectured electrode for lithium ion batteries

Nanoarchitectured Sn-Co alloy electrode was prepared via a facile two-step electrodeposition. With uniform Ni nanocone-array as the substrate, Sn-Co alloy was deposited for 5 min, and densely packed cylinders were formed with semiglobular top. In this configuration, these Ni cones functioned as structure support, electron transport paths, and the inactive confining buffer. Meanwhile, the space between adjacent Sn-Co cylinders as well as the inactive Co matrix accommodated the volume change and cushioned the concomitant internal stress. The nanoarchitectured Sn-Co electrode showed a high discharge capacity of ∼650 mAh g^-1, which maintained well with capacity retention of 97.3% after 70 cycles and 83.4% after 90 cycles. It also exhibited attractively high rate capability, delivering high-level capacities at various rates with little capacity decay. These remarkable performances of nanoarchitectured Sn-Co electrode indicated the potential of its application as anode materials for high-performance lithium ion battery.