Facile synthesis of Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures and their application in lithium storage

• Novel Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach without surfactant.
• The Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were assembled by pronounced needle-like nanorod truncks with highly ordered needle-like nanorod branches.
• The as-obtained Zn-doped SnO2 sample exhibited good electrochemical property.

Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach without the use of any surfactants or templates. The as-prepared samples were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The observation of FESEM and HRTEM showed that Zn-doped SnO2 hierarchical cube-like architectures were composed of numerous oriented dendrites. Each dendrite is assembled by a pronounced trunk with highly ordered branches distributing on the both sides. The as-prepared Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures were used as anode materials for Li-ion battery, and a stable capacity of 488.3 mA h g−1 was achieved after 50 cycles. The results of electrochemical measurements indicated that the as-prepared Zn-doped SnO2 dendrite-built hierarchical cube-like architectures have potential application in Li-ion battery.