Self-Assembled Cu-Sn-S Nanotubes with High (De)Lithiation Performance.

Lin, Jie; Lim, Jin-Myoung; Youn, Duck Hyun; Kawashima, Kenta; Kim, Jun-Hyuk; Liu, Yang; Guo, Hang; Henkelman, Graeme et al. · ACS Nano · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Through a gelation-solvothermal method without heteroadditives, Cu-Sn-S composites self-assemble to form nanotubes, sub-nanotubes, and nanoparticles. The nanotubes with a Cu<sub>3-4</sub>SnS<sub>4</sub> core and Cu<sub>2</sub>SnS<sub>3</sub> shell can tolerate long cycles of expansion/contraction upon lithiation/delithiation, retaining a charge capacity of 774 mAh g<sup>-1</sup> after 200 cycles with a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 82.5%. The importance of the Cu component for mitigation of the volume expansion and structural evolution upon lithiation is informed by density functional theory calculations. The self-generated template and calculated results can inspire the design of analogous Cu-M-S (M = metal) nanotubes for lithium batteries or other energy storage systems.