Solvent Engineered Synthesis of SnO Nanoparticles for High-Performance Anodes

Batteries are the most abundant form of electrochemical energy storage. Lithium and sodium ion batteries account for a significant portion of the battery market, but high-performance electrochemically active materials still need to be discovered and optimized for these technologies. Recently, tin(II) oxide (SnO) has emerged as a highly-promising battery electrode. In this work, we present a facile synthesis method to produce SnO nanoparticles whose size and shape can be tailored by changing the solvent nature. We study the complex relationship between wet chemistry synthesis conditions and resulting nanoparticle morphology. Furthermore, high-level electronic structure theory, including dispersion corrections to account for van der Waals forces, are employed to augment our understanding of the underlying chemical mechanisms. The electronic vacuum alignment and surface energies are determined, allowing the prediction of the thermodynamically-favoured crystal shape (Wulff construction) and surface-weighted work function. Finally, the synthesized nanomaterials were tested as Li-ion battery anodes, demonstrating significantly enhanced electrochemical performance for morphologies obtained from specific synthesis conditions. Open-access publication in npj 2D Mater & Appl here.电池是当前应用最为广泛的电化学储能形式。锂离子与钠离子电池占据了电池市场的重要份额，但此类技术仍需开发并优化高性能电化学活性材料。近期，氧化亚锡（tin(II) oxide, SnO）已成为极具应用前景的电池电极材料。本研究提出了一种简便合成方法制备氧化亚锡纳米颗粒，通过调控溶剂种类即可定制其尺寸与形貌。我们系统探究了湿化学合成条件与最终纳米颗粒形貌之间的复杂关联。此外，本研究采用包含范德华力色散校正的高精度电子结构理论，以加深对其内在化学机制的认知。研究人员测定了电子真空能级对齐情况与表面能，借此可预测热力学最优晶体形貌（沃夫构造，Wulff construction）以及表面加权功函数。最后，将合成的纳米材料作为锂离子电池负极进行测试，结果显示，通过特定合成条件得到的纳米颗粒形貌可显著提升电化学性能。相关开放获取论文已发表于npj《二维材料与应用》（npj 2D Mater & Appl）。