Sn/Al 2 O 3 /C/CNT composite prepared by wet milling as anode material for lithium-ion cells

Sn/Al 2 O 3 /C/CNT (SAC/CNT) composite was synthesized by a simple wet milling route. The physico-chemical, structural and morphological properties of the material were studied. The electrochemical performance of the composite as an anode material in Li-ion cells was evaluated by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), charge–discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance measurements. The SAC/CNT material delivered an initial specific capacity of 835 mAh g −1 with the coulombic efficiency of ∼77% along with good charge–discharge cycle performance retaining ∼88% of the initial capacity after 35 cycles. A comparison of the results with those for Sn/C (SC) and Sn/Al 2 O 3 /C (SAC) showed that the SAC/CNT composite exhibited better overall performance compared to the other two materials. The enhanced performance of SAC/CNT is attributed to the combined effect of the buffer action provided by Al 2 O 3 accommodating volume changes of the electrode during cycling and the reduced charge transfer resistance of the electrode resulting from the inclusion of conductive CNTs.