From ZnSn(OH)6 to SnS2: Topotactic transformation synthesis of SnS2 hierarchical microcubes with superior Li-ion storage performance

•Uniform 3D hierarchical SnS2 microcubes were synthesized via a topotactic transformation route.•The anode of these 3D SnS2 microcubes exhibited stable cycling performance.•The anode of these 3D SnS2 microcubes also showed superior rate capability.

The 3D hierarchical microstructured electrodes by assembling the individual 1D/2D nanosubunits can fully take advantage of the merit of 1D/2D nanostructured materials, as well as alleviate their drawbacks. In this work, SnS2 3D hierarchical microcubes consisting of 2D nanosheet subunits were facilely synthesized via a simple topotactic transformation with room-temperature coprecipitated ZnSn(OH)6 microcubes as the template. Compared to bulk counterparts, this microstructured SnS2 was found to have a unique morphology and electrochemical interfacial regions that facilitated highly efficient Li-ion insertion/extraction and effectively accommodate the large volume changes during charge/discharge cycles. Over the whole 200 cycles at 1C current density, an outstanding cycleing stability is exhibited, with a high stable specific capacity of about 640 mA h g−1.

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