Lithium Insertion–Deinsertion Reactions of Ultrafine SnO2 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Microwave Heating

Abstract Ultrafine SnO2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by microwave heating. The SnO2 nanoparticles worked as a rechargeable electrode material for a lithium-ion battery. Micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry studies of the SnO2 nanoparticles elucidated that the lithium insertion–deinsertion reactions during the 1st cycle were caused by both redox of SnO2 and Li–Sn alloying–dealloying reactions. The redox reactions were irreversible and disappeared via charge–discharge cycling, and only the Li–Sn alloying–dealloying reactions took place at the later cycle.