Hydrothermal synthesis, self-assembly and electrochemical performance of α-Fe2O3 microspheres for lithium ion batteries

In this paper, we report the hydrothermal synthesis, structural characterization and electrochemical properties of uniform α-Fe2O3 microspheres. In the synthetic procedure, the surfactant, sodium citrate, was found to be crucial to the formation of α-Fe2O3 microspheres. In addition, by simply varying the concentration of sodium citrate, cylindrical α-Fe2O3 microstructures could be readily obtained. On the basis of time-dependent experimental result, a possible formation mechanism of the α-Fe2O3 microspheres was proposed. The as-obtained α-Fe2O3 microspheres were then evaluated as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. And the result shows that the material exhibited an initial discharge capacity as high as 1453.4 mAh g−1. After 50 cycles, the reversible discharge capacity was 489.5 mAh g−1, which was much higher than that of commercial graphite. This work provides an additional strategy to prepare self-assembled structures with tailored morphology. And the results are helpful to further understand the mechanism of self-organization and expand the applications of iron oxide micromaterials.