A facile and highly efficient short-time homogenization hydrothermal approach for the smart production of high-quality α-Fe2O3 for rechargeable lithium batteries

In the present work, we have synthesized zero-dimensional (0D) and three-dimensional (3D) iron oxide (alpha-Fe2O3) sub-micron particles using a one-pot hydrothermal approach. Morphological studies reveal that the as-synthesized spherical alpha-Fe2O3 (SFO) material consists of nanospheres with void spaces. The prepared SFO delivers a high specific surface area of 100.80 m(2) g(-1) and significantly increases the contact area between the electrode and the electrolyte. The initial galvanostatic specific capacity of the SFO materials was 1306 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 100 mA g(-1), which is superior to that of bare cubic alpha-Fe2O3 (CFO). Moreover, the mesoporous SFO shows a good cycling stability with a capacity retention rate of 91.4% after 100 cycles. These attractive results suggest that the mesoporous SFO shows a good electrochemical performance as a negative electrode material for high-performance Li-ion batteries.