Secondary growth synthesis of ZnSn(OH)6 cube/Zn2SnO4 nanowire yolk–shell hierarchical structures with enhanced lithium ion storage properties

Abstract

Hierarchical ZnSn(OH)₆/Zn₂SnO₄ yolk–shell nonspherical structures that are composed of self-supported nanowire arrays have been conveniently prepared via a simple secondary growth method. The XRD and TEM results indicate that the composition of the outer nanowire shell is the Zn₂SnO₄ (ZTO) phase, while the inner cubic core is the incomplete conversion ZnSn(OH)₆ phase. Due to the synergistic effect of the low dimensional shell and stable yolk–shell structure, the as-obtained hierarchical ZnSn(OH)₆/ZTO yolk–shell structures exhibit high stability and capacity for lithium ion batteries (LIBs).