Three-Dimensional Tin Nanoparticles Embedded in Carbon Nanotubes on Carbon Cloth as a Flexible Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Graphical Like peas in a pod: Novel tin nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (TNEC) arrays on carbon cloth is prepared by a facile carbon reduction route as a flexible anode for lithium-ions batteries, which shows a high areal capacity (2.15 mAh cm −2 ) and cycling stability. With the development of flexible electronic devices, the research on flexible storage devices has received considerable attention. In this paper, we designed novel tin nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes (TNEC) arrays on carbon cloth prepared by a facile carbon reduction route as a flexible anode for lithium-ion batteries. The TNEC electrode shows a high areal capacity (2.15 mAh cm −2 ) when the current density is 0.1 mA cm −2 , Meanwhile, a good cycling performance (84 % of initial capacity) is achieved after 80 charge–discharge cycles, which could be attributed to the high theoretical capacity of metal tin and the tin encapsulated in carbon nanotubes structure that improves the electrical conductivity and structure stability.