One-pot facile synthesis of iron oxide nanowires as high capacity anode materials for lithium ion batteries

alpha-Fe2O3 nanowires were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The crystalline structure and morphology of the synthesized materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that the prepared alpha-Fe2O3 product was uniform nanowires with the length/diameter ratio as high as 500. The electrochemical properties of alpha-Fe2O3 nanowires were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge/discharge measurements. The initial charge/discharge capacities can reach 947/1303 mAh/g at the rate of 0.1 C. The lithium storage capacity maintained 456 mAh/g after 100 cycles. This good electrochemical performance may be attributed to the large surface area and short pathways in nanowires for lithium ion migration. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.