Nanocomposites in the Sn-Mn-C system produced by mechanical alloying

Intermetallic phases and mixtures of intermetallic phases in the Sn-Mn-C te rnary system were prepared by mechanical alloying. Studies concentrated on Sn2Mn, SnMn1.77 and SnMn3C. Nanoscale two-phase mixtures of Sn2Mn-SnMn1.77 and Sn2Mn-SnMn3C were prepared and studied by electron microscopy, X-ray di ffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy. These results show that each particle is a mixture of nanoscopic grains of the coexisting phases. The grain size s of the phases are shown to be in the 10 nm range. On the basis of the res ults in the Sn-Fe-C system the present investigation suggests that the mate rials prepared here may be suitable as anode materials for Li-ion cells. (C ) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.