SnSe 2 Encapsuled in N-doped Carbon Nanofibers as Self-supporting Anode for Lithium-Ion Storage

The exploration of high-capacity anode materials is extremely vital for the progress of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). SnSe 2 is of great interest, on account of its low cost and high theoretical specific capacity, when used as the anode of LIBs. SnSe 2 exhibits drastic capacity decay at high rates, due to its inherent low electrical conductivity, as well as its sluggish kinetics and huge volume expansion during charging and discharging. In this work, flexible Sn-based nanofibers were synthesized by electrostatic spinning, followed by high-temperature calcination and selenization to obtain the final SnSe 2 @NCNFs. The SnSe 2 nanoparticles were encapsuled in carbon nanofibers with good ductility after annealing at 600°C. The carbon nanofibers not only act as self-supporting substrates but also improve the conductivity of the composite and retard volume expansion of SnSe 2 . With the above advantages, the integrated SnSe 2 @NCNFs is able to provide good stability, with 144.3 mA h g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 after 1000 cycles. Graphical Abstract