Large-scale synthesis of highly crystalline rectangular prism-like CeO2 microrods with excellent lithium storage behavior

In this paper, highly crystalline rectangular prism-like CeO2 microrods were synthesized by a microwave assisted solution without any surfactants or templates. The reaction time was only 30 min. The structure and morphology were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS. The calculated lattice parameter was a = 0.5405 nm. The microrods growth was in the [111] direction. A possible formation mechanism was suggested. As an anode material for Li-ion batteries, lithium storage behaviors of the as-prepared CeO2 were evaluated in 0.01-1.5 V by charge-discharge test, CV and EIS. The discharge capacity retention was 98.97% with reference to the 10th cycle (319.5 mAh g(-1)) after 100 cycles at 0.2 mA cm(-2). The excellent lithium storage behavior should be attributed to 1-dimensional (1D) microrod structures, the path of lithium ions diffusion and the maintain of the microrod morphology during lithiation/delithiation. Furthermore, the obtained rectangular prism-like CeO2 microrods can also be extended to other application fields. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.