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Economical flexible composites from SnO₂-MWCNT: dual excellence in batteries and electromagnetic shielding

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Abstract

Flexible anodes with high lithium storage capacity are critical for wearable and bendable energy devices, but tin oxide (SnO₂) faces challenges like severe volume changes and limited electrical conductivity during cycling while multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) moderate capacity limit this advancement. Hybrid SnO₂-MWCNT structures address these challenges by merging high-capacity oxides with conductive carbon scaffolds to boost capacity and stability. In this study, we prepared a freestanding SnO₂-MWCNT (T-MWCNT) composite paper anodes using a low-cost, water-based technique optimized for large-scale production. This process enables the SnO₂ nanoparticles to anchored on interconnected MWCNT frameworks, delivering superior thermal resilience and charge transport properties. The performance of hybrid T-MWCNT composite paper anode was subsequently evaluated in a lithium rechargeable cell. Electrochemical measurements showed 99% Coulombic efficiency over 40 cycles at 100 mA/g and a lithium capacity of 220 mAh/g, which is 25% more than that of pristine MWCNT (177 mAh/g). The developed anode can be used in various flexible and bendable devices without further treatment. Notably, these anodes maintain performance in flexible configurations without further processing, enabling direct use in portable electronics. Additionally, the ability of the composite papers to shield against electromagnetic interference (EMI) was also investigated in X-band. The composite paper exhibited a total EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 49.2 dB making it highly suitable for commercial electronics applications.

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Data availability

The data supporting this study, “Economical Flexible Composites from SnO₂-MWCNT: Dual Excellence in Batteries and Electromagnetic Shielding,” are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

Author Dr Anisha Chaudhary would like to thanks DST for Woman Scientist Project Funding (DST/WOS-A/ET/-18/2020 (G).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Carbon Products and Metrology, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Satish Teotia, Anisha Chaudhary, S. R. Dhakate & Bhanu Pratap Singh

  2. Department of Physics, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Satish Teotia & Anchal Srivastava

  3. Department of Applied Sciences and Humanities, ABES Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Satish Teotia

  4. Electrochemical Process Engineering Division, Electrochemical Research Institute, CSIR-Central, Karaikudi, 630006, India

    B Venkata Rami Reddy

  5. Department of Physics, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam College, New Delhi, 110021, India

    Avanish Pratap Singh

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  1. Satish Teotia
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  2. Anisha Chaudhary
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  3. B Venkata Rami Reddy
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Contributions

Satish Teotia: Writing– review & editing, Writing – original draft, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis. Anisha Chaudhary: Writing– review & editing, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. B Venkata Rami Reddy: Writing– review & editing, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis. Avanish Pratap Singh: Writing– review & editing, Validation, Resources, Investigation. Anchal Srivastava: Validation, Supervision, Resources, Project administration. Sanjay R. Dhakate: Visualization, Resources, Project administration. Bhanu Pratap Singh: Visualization, Supervision, Resources, Project administration, Conceptualization.

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Correspondence to Satish Teotia.

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Teotia, S., Chaudhary, A., Reddy, B.V.R. et al. Economical flexible composites from SnO₂-MWCNT: dual excellence in batteries and electromagnetic shielding. emergent mater. 9, 161 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-026-01447-y

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