Terminal hollowed Fe2O3@SnO2 heterojunction nanorods anode materials with enhanced performance for lithium-ion battery

By the simply mediated concentration of Na2SnO3 and the solvothermal reaction time, a novel terminal hollowed Fe2O3@SnO2(TH-Fe2O3@SnO2) heterojunction nanorods are synthesized by the inside-out ostwald ripening of SnO2 nanoparticles. For comparison, olive-like Fe2O3 nanorods covered with SnO2 nanoparticles core-shell heterogeneous composites (Fe2O3@SnO2) are also synthesized by a facile hydrothermal treatment method. The structure and morphology of the TH-Fe2O3@SnO2 are investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is found that the shells with 20-25 nm thickness of TH-Fe2O3@SnO2 are composed of tetragonal SnO2 particles (with an average diameter 10 nm), and the core of TH-Fe2O3@SnO2 are formed of the corroded Fe2O3 nanorods with 100 nm length and 50 nm widths. The formation mechanism of TH-Fe2O3@SnO2 has also been studied on the basis of investigation of the concentration of Na2SnO3 and the solvothermal reaction time. By comparison with single Fe2O3 nanorods and Fe2O3@Sn2O, the TH-Fe2O3@SnO2 exhibits a higher reversible specific capacity of 570.7 mAh g(-1) at the current density of 200 mA g(-1) after 100 cycles. The unique terminal hollowed structure and synergetic effect of Fe2O3 and SnO2 can benefit to enhance the Li storage performance and are responsible for the enhanced electro-chemical performances. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.