Rationally Designed Hierarchical TiO₂@Fe₂O₃ Hollow Nanostructures for Improved Lithium Ion Storage

Abstract

Abstract Hollow and hierarchical nanostructures have received wide attention in new‐generation, high‐performance, lithium ion battery (LIB) applications. Both TiO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 are under current investigation because of their high structural stability (TiO 2 ) and high capacity (Fe 2 O 3 ), and their low cost. Here, we demonstrate a simple strategy for the fabrication of hierarchical hollow TiO 2 @Fe 2 O 3 nanostructures for the application as LIB anodes. Using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and sacrificial template‐assisted hydrolysis, the resulting nanostructure combines a large surface area with a hollow interior and robust structure. As a result, such rationally designed LIB anodes exhibit a high reversible capacity (initial value 840 mAh g −1 ), improved cycle stability (530 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles at the current density of 200 mA g −1 ), as well as outstanding rate capability. This ALD‐assisted fabrication strategy can be extended to other hierarchical hollow metal oxide nanostructures for favorable applications in electrochemical and optoelectronic devices.