A novel “plane-line-plane” nanostructure of the sandwich-like CNTs@SnO2/Ti3C2Tx 3D nanocomposite as a promising anode for lithium-ion batteries.

As one of the novel two-dimensional metal carbides, Ti 3 C 2 T x has received intense attention for lithium-ion batteries. However, Ti 3 C 2 T x has low intrinsic capacity due to the fact that the surface functionalization of F and OH blocks Li ion transport. Herein a novel “plane-line-plane” three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure is designed and created by introducing the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and SnO 2 nanoparticles to Ti 3 C 2 T x via a simple hydrothermal method. Due to the capacitance contribution of SnO 2 as well as the buffer role of CNTs, the as-fabricated sandwich-like CNTs@SnO 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x nanocomposite shows high lithium ion storage capabilities, excellent rate capability and superior cyclic stability. The galvanostatic electrochemical measurements indicate that the nanocomposite exhibits a superior capacity of 604.1 mAh g −1 at 0.05 A g −1 , which is higher than that of raw Ti 3 C 2 T x (404.9 mAh g −1 ). Even at 3 A g −1 , it retains a stable capacity (91.7 mAh g −1 ). This capacity is almost 5.6 times higher than that of Ti 3 C 2 T x (16.6 mAh g −1 ) and 58 times higher than that of SnO 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x (1.6 mAh g −1 ). Additionally, the capacity of CNTs@SnO 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x for the 50th cycle is 180.1 mAh g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 , also higher than that of Ti 3 C 2 T x (117.2 mAh g −1 ) and SnO 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x (65.8 mAh g −1 ), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]