Controlled synthesis of mesoporous hollow SnO2 nanococoons with enhanced lithium storage capability

Abstract

Mesoporous hollow SnO₂ nanococoons (mh-SnO₂ NCs) were synthesized via the redox reaction between SnCl₂ and Fe₂O₃ nanospindles in the presence of excess SnCl₄. The Fe₂O₃ nanospindles act as a sacrificial template to oxidize SnCl₂ to form a layer of SnO₂ on the original Fe₂O₃ core surface and the following hydrolysis of SnCl₄ on the as-generated SnO₂ further produces SnO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) to solidate the mh-SnO₂ shell, resulting in the formation of a hierarchical structure on the surface. The surface morphology of mh-SnO₂ NCs could be easily controlled by varying the synthesis parameters. The resulting mh-SnO₂ NCs possess superior lithium storage properties with an exceptionally good cycling performance and an excellent rate capability.