Cyanometallic frameworks derived hierarchical porous Fe2O3/NiO microflowers with excellent lithium-storage property

Hierarchical porous microflowers composed of porous Fe2O3/NiO nanoplates were synthesized via a facile cyanometallic framework-templated strategy. The synthesized Fe2O3/NiO microflowers were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer Emmet Teller adsorption-desorption analysis. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the Fe2O3/NiO microflowers exhibit excellent electrochemical performance in terms of great lithium storage capacity (1652.6 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1) and good cycling stability (1210.4 mAh g−1 capacity retention at 50th cycle). This result can be attributed to the hierarchical porous structure of the Fe2O3/NiO microflowers, which could increase active sites for lithium ions storage, accommodate the volume expansion/contraction during charge-discharge cycles, and the synergistic effect between Fe2O3 and NiO.