Single crystalline SnO2 nanowires obtained from heat-treated SnO2 and C mixture and their electrochemical properties

• Large-scale SnO2 nanowires were prepared by thermal evaporation without any carrier gas or noble metal catalysts.
• A growth model based on vapor–solid (VS) mechanism is constructed for the formation of the 1D nanostructure.
• SnO2 nanowires delivered high lithium storage capacity with good cycle stability and high rate capability.

One-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures have demonstrated significant advantages for electrochemical electrode due to their remarkable size-dependent and structure-related properties. In this work, large-scale single-crystalline SnO2 nanowires have been successfully synthesized by thermal evaporation of a SnO2 and C powder under atmospheric conditions without any carrier gas or noble metal catalysts-coated substrate. The as-prepared samples exhibit uniform morphology with a thin diameter of 100–200 nm and length up to several tens of micrometers. The SnO2 nanowires directly grown on the initially deposition layer are found to grow along [301] direction, which is possibly dominated by a vapor–solid (VS) mechanism. The SnO2 nanowires synthesized by this simple and cheap method deliver a very high lithium storage capacity with good cycle stability and high rate capability, allowing for the achievement of high energy density and long cycle life for the next-generation energy conversion and storage devices.