Batteries are the most abundant form of electrochemical energy storage. Lithium and sodium ion batteries account for a significant portion of the battery market, but high-performance electrochemically active materials still need to be discovered and optimized for these technologies. Recently, tin(II) oxide (SnO) has emerged as a highly promising battery electrode. In this work, we present a facile synthesis method to produce SnO microparticles whose size and shape can be tailored by changing the solvent nature. We study the complex relationship between wet-chemistry synthesis conditions and resulting layered nanoparticle morphology. Furthermore, high-level electronic structure theory, including dispersion corrections to account for van der Waals forces, is employed to enhance our understanding of the underlying chemical mechanisms. The electronic vacuum alignment and surface energies are determined, allowing the prediction of the thermodynamically favoured crystal shape (Wulff construction) and surface-weighted work function. Finally, the synthesized nanomaterials were tested as Li-ion battery anodes, demonstrating significantly enhanced electrochemical performance for morphologies obtained from specific synthesis conditions.

电池是电化学储能的最丰富形式。锂和钠离子电池在电池市场中占有重要的份额，但是对于这些技术，仍然需要发现和优化高性能的电化学活性材料。近来，氧化锡（II）（SnO）成为一种很有前途的电池电极。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种简便的合成方法来生产SnO微粒，其大小和形状可以通过改变溶剂性质来定制。我们研究了湿化学合成条件与所得层状纳米颗粒形态之间的复杂关系。此外，采用了高级电子结构理论，包括考虑到范德华力的色散校正，可增强我们对基本化学机理的理解。确定电子真空排列和表面能，从而可以预测热力学上有利的晶体形状（Wulff结构）和表面加权功函数。最后，将合成的纳米材料作为锂离子电池阳极进行了测试，证明了从特定合成条件获得的形貌的电化学性能显着增强。