Preparation and characterization of SnO-based glasses as anode materials for lithium secondary batteries

Glasses in the systems of Li2O-SnO-B2O3 and Li2O-SnO-BPO4 were prepared by a melt quenching method and their thermal, viscous, and electrochemical properties were investigated. The SnO based glasses exhibited the relatively low glass transition temperatures (T-g) of 350 degreesC and an excellent thermal stability against crystallization. The values of T-g and E eta /T-g, where E-eta is the activation energy for viscous flow at around T-g and E-eta/T-g is the fragility parameter, were maximized at around a composition of 40 mol% SnO in the SnO-B2O3 system. The electrochemical properties of those glasses were investigated by using a simple three-electrode cell with the glass as a working electrode, lithium sheets as both counter and reference electrodes, and 1M LiPFr6/EC + DEC as a liquid electrolyte. The SnO based glasses worked as anode materials with high discharge capacities over 650 mAh (.) g(-1) at the first cycle and exhibited good cycling performance.