Tin Oxide-Carbon-Coated Sepiolite Nanofibers with Enhanced Lithium-Ion Storage Property

Abstract

Natural sepiolite (Sep) nanofibers were coated with carbon and nanoscale SnO2 to prepare an emerging nanocomposite (SnO2–C@Sep), which exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance. Sepiolite could act as a steady skeleton, carbon coating principally led sepiolite from an isolated to an electric state, and decoration of nanoscale SnO2 was beneficial to the functionization of sepiolite. Cycling performances indicated that SnO2–C@Sep showed higher discharge capacities than commercial SnO2 after 50 cycles. The nanocomposite SnO2–C@Sep possessed enhanced lithium storage properties with stable capacity retention and low cost, which could open up a new strategy to synthesize a variety of functional hybrid materials based on the cheap and abundant clay and commercialization of lithium-metal oxide batteries.

Novel Sepiolite‐Based Materials for Lithium‐ and Sodium‐Ion Storage

“…These nanoparticles can be anchored on the surface of sepiolite fibers, which could avoid the formation of macroscopic aggregates of nanoparticles and protect the nanoparticles from erosion or exfoliation. Several composites were prepared by using sepiolite as carriers . The sepiolite‐based composites show high performance in the field of photocatalysis, adsorption, coating, and ceramics.…”

“…The sepiolite‐based composites show high performance in the field of photocatalysis, adsorption, coating, and ceramics. However, sepiolite has not received much attention in energy storage and conversion . Herein, TiO 2 /sepiolite composite for Li‐ and Na‐ion batteries is prepared by hydrothermal reaction and its electrochemical properties are assessed.…”

New Fe2O3-Clay@C Nanocomposite Anodes for Li-Ion Batteries Obtained by Facile Hydrothermal Processes

“…However, this type of compound shows low stability due to high volume expansion after successive cycles, together with low electrical conductivity, which hinders Li ions insertion-deinsertion processes. In order to surpass these deficiencies, different strategies have been described in recent literature: to obtain nanomembranes [ 6 ], to modify the synthesis routes [ 3 ], to prepare composites with diverse carbon materials [ 7 ], and to optimize the materials response by nano-architecturing them with diverse clays as supports [ 8 ]. It is worth mentioning several recent strategies implying the use of carbon fibers obtained from different precursors, leading to a significant improvement of conductivity and structural stability through the discharge-charge processes [ 9 ].…”

“…In some cases, the caramelization of sucrose in the adequate conditions permitted to obtain functionalized conducting carbon-sepiolite anodes [ 22 , 23 ]. Further, the preparation of emergent nanocomposites of sepiolite-supported metal oxides led to a significant enhancement of the cycling performance starting from the ~90th cycle [ 8 ].…”

Preparation and Enhanced Catalytic Hydrogenation Activity of Sb/Palygorskite (PAL) Nanoparticles

“…One of the most widely used as supporting materials for the surface modification is clay mineral. The composites by introducing of clay mineral [ 10 – 12 ], such as kaolinite [ 13 , 14 ], halloysite [ 15 , 16 ], montmorillonite [ 17 ], and sepiolite [ 18 ], do not only enhance the dispersion of nanoparticles but also improve the gather of reactants which would produce synergetic effect in the catalytic process and further intensify its catalytic performance [ 19 ]. Moreover, the cost of clay mineral is lower than the metal catalyst, which would further reduce the costs of catalysts and facilitate its practical application.…”