Hydrothermal synthesis of spindle-like Zn2SiO4 nanoparticles and its application in lithium-ion battery

•Spindle-shaped Zn2SiO4 nanoparticles have been prepared by a facile hydrothermal method.•The formation mechanism and morphology evolvement were studied.•The spindle-shaped Zn2SiO4 nanoparticles exhibited high capacity and better cyclability.

Self-assembled Zn2SiO4 with hierarchical spindle-like architectures has been successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. The spindle-like Zn2SiO4 structures are composed of several tens of homogeneous nanorods with diameters of about 30 nm and lengths of 200–400 nm. Time dependent X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy are used to investigate the detailed growth mechanism of these unique architectures. The electrochemical performance of the Zn2SiO4 structures as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries was investigated by a galvanostatic charge–discharge method. The results showed that the spindle-like Zn2SiO4 structures exhibited high capacity and better cycle stability, and are thus promising anode candidates in advanced rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.