Controlled growth of SnO2@Fe2O3 double-sided nanocombs as anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

A novel heterostructure is developed by grafting 1D SnO₂ nanorods onto both sides of pre-grown 2D Fe₂O₃ nanoflakes, forming a comb-like rather than tree-like branched nanostructure. The SnO₂ nanorod branches are determined to grow along the [001] direction on the (±001) planes of Fe₂O₃ nanoflakes. The resulting SnO₂@Fe₂O₃ nanocombs show stabilized cycling performance and improved volumetric energy density compared to pristine Fe₂O₃ nanoflakes presumably due to the integration of SnO₂ branches as well as the 3D hierarchical structural features.