Facile one-pot synthesis of mesoporous SnO2 microspheres via nanoparticles assembly and lithium storage properties

The facile one-pot synthesis of mesoporous SnO2microspheres using hydrothermal carbonization of furfural in the presence of SnO2 nanoparticle sols was reported. The SnO2 nanoparticles assemble together into mesoporous SnO2 after the removal of the carbon matrix. These carbon nanoparticle composites exhibit themselves electrochemical properties. The distribution of the SnO2 inside the carbon matrix could be visualized using TEM microtoming. The SEM and TEM micrographs show that the spheres are formed out of aggregated SnO2 nanoparticles. The storage properties with respect to Li insertion/extraction was also investigated to test the potential applicability of the as-synthesized mesoporous SnO 2. It was observed that the resulting hydrophilic carbon microspheres contain well-dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles in their composition.