Developing an Efficient Anode for Li-Ion Batteries Based on Vertically-Aligned CNTs Decorated with Sn-Ni Alloy

In this research work, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) have been decorated with Sn-Ni alloy at three deposition times and were used as the anode for lithium-ion battery. The morphological and elemental analyses of the developed anodes were investigated. The results of the electrochemical analyses proved the Sn-Ni alloy possessed a relatively higher stable cycling performance when compared to previous works on Sn. Higher deposition times led to higher capacity loss, which was attributed to the possible clustering of Sn deposits as evidenced by morphological analysis. Higher thickness of the deposits also led to more intense irreversible capacity loss. For the selected optimal specimen, the fast capacity loss continued for the 13th cycle with the capacity of 400 mAh/g. This region was followed by a slower rate of capacity loss, and finally, the plateau capacity of 303.67 mAh/g was achieved after 100 cycles, which was stabilized at relatively low cycles. The ability of the specimen to reach the coulombic efficiency of 95% after five cycles also proved the efficiency of the electrode.