A novel nanosheets-coated multi-layered SnO2@NiMoO4 microsphere as high-performance Li-ion battery anode

High-performance anodes are highly needed for lithium-ion batteries to achieve high capacity and energy density. Here, a strategy of combining hollow yolk-shell structure and surface modification is reported to improve the capacity of anode. As a demonstrating case study, a nanosheets-coated multiple-layered SnO2@NiMoO4 composite is prepared through a simple hydrothermal method. The results show that the multilayered SnO2 microspheres and NiMoO4 nanosheets would exhibit a synergistic effect, which efficiently improves the electrochemical properties of Li-ion battery anode. During the cycling, the hollow multilayered SnO2 microspheres coated by NiMoO4 nanosheets maintain a robust structure, and have a long cycle life. The reversible capacity of SnO2@NiMoO4 anode is as high as 1109 mAh g−1 at 400 mA g−1 for 250 cycles, which is competitive to the bare SnO2 and some other reports, indicating a potential for developing high-performance Li-ion battery systems.