One-pot synthesis of hierarchical SnO2 hollow nanospindles self-assembled from nanorods and their lithium storage properties

Abstract

Novel hierarchical SnO₂ hollow nanospindles self-assembled from nanorods have been successfully synthesized via a templating approach under hydrothermal conditions. The influence of the reactant concentration on SnO₂ products is investigated in detail. It is found that the interplay of the acidic etching of Fe₂O₃ templates and controlled hydrolysis of SnCl₂ is significant for the formation of the hierarchical SnO₂ hollow nanostructures. The evolution process and formation mechanism of the hollow structures with nanorods are analyzed from the angle of nucleation and morphology. Moreover, the electrochemical properties of the hollow structures are also studied by charge–discharge cycling, the result displays that the hierarchical SnO₂ hollow nanostructure exhibits much better lithium storage properties with higher reversible capacities and enhanced cyclic capacity retention than the commercial SnO₂ nanoparticles.