Porous TiO₂ coated α-Fe₂O₃ ginger-like nanostructures with enhanced electrochemical properties

Porous TiO₂ coated α-Fe₂O₃ ginger-like nanostructures were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal and following calcination process without any surfactants or templates. As anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the as-obtained porous TiO₂ coated α-Fe₂O₃ ginger-like nanostructures showed an initial reversible capacity of 576 mA h g^-1 and the specific capacity remained 418 mA h g^-1 after 150 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g^-1. The enhanced lithium storage performance of the composites should be attributed to the dual lithium storage mechanism based on both lithium insertion into anatase TiO₂ and lithium reduction/alloying reactions with α-Fe₂O₃, as well as the ginger-like porous nanostructures.