Hollow α-Fe2O3 core–shell colloidosomes: facile one-pot synthesis and high lithium anodic performances

Colloidosomes are three dimensional superstructures composed of building blocks with various morphologies and would have great application potentials in many fields. However, complicated synthesis procedures have restricted their extensive applications. In this work, we reported a facile one-pot synthesis approach to fabricate hollow core–shell α-Fe2O3 colloidosomes via a solvothermal method. The colloidosomes have an average diameter of 3 μm and both the core and the shell of the α-Fe2O3 colloidosomes are assembled by α-Fe2O3 nanoplates, which are composed of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. When evaluated as a lithium-ion battery anode, these core–shell α-Fe2O3 colloidosomes exhibited high reversible discharge and charge capacities and stable cyclability.