Hematite hollow spindles and microspheres: Selective synthesis, growth mechanisms, and application in lithium ion battery and water treatment

In this article, a facile route using simple hydrothermal reaction and sequential calcinations to synthesize alpha-Fe2O3 hollow nanostructures without employing templates or matrices is presented. By simply changing the basic source, hollow spindles and microspheres can be selectively synthesized. The concentration of the reagents and the kind of basic source or coordination reagents are verified to have great influence on the morphologies of the products. TEM images clearly show the hollow natures of the as-obtained products. Growth mechanisms for the hollow nanostructures were proposed. Because of the unique hollow structures of the samples, the potential applications of the as-obtained hematite hollow nanostructures on lithium ion battery and water treatment were also investigated.