Significantly increased cycling performance of novel "self-matrix'' NiSnO3 anode in lithium ion battery application

A novel nickel tin oxide (NiSnO3) was reported to be used as an anode for lithium ion batteries. It was found that NiSnO3 shows higher cycling performance than the mixture of NiO and SnO2 with the same elemental composition, and the reversible capacity retention is 57% and 32% after 100 charge/discharge cycles, respectively. The NiSnO3 anode can be electrochemically decomposed into NiO, Sn and Li2O in the first discharge process. NiO and Sn can significantly function as "self-matrices'' for each other besides the formed Li2O matrix. The massive matrices effectively buffer the large volume change and prevent the aggregation of the nanosized particle upon cycling, resulting in the improved cycling performance without sacrificing the specific energy capacity.