In situ one-pot synthesis of Sn/lignite-based porous carbon composite for enhanced lithium storage.

To expand the variety of Sn/C composites, lignite-based porous carbon was initially prepared with Baoqing lignite as the raw material and KCO as the extractant and activator. A novel Sn/lignite-based porous carbon composite was subsequently fabricated via an in situ one-pot synthesis method. In the nanocomposite, Sn nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on lignite-based porous carbon, improving the lithium-ion storage performance of the as-prepared material. Compared with pure Sn and bare lignite-based porous carbon, Sn/lignite-based porous carbon displayed a superior electrochemical performance. The composite material exhibits a high reversible capacity of 941 mAh g after 200 cycles at 100 mA g. Even after 800 charge/discharge cycles at a high current density of 1000 mA g, the nanocomposite retains a reversible capacity of 573 mAh g. The enhanced lithium-ion storage performance can be attributed to the combined effect of Sn and lignite-based porous carbon.