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Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have been considered as the most promising power technology for large-scale storage of energy which is produced by renewable sources. The development of SIBs anode materials is still not satisfied enough to meet the commercial requirement. The research focused on developing anode materials of SIBs with high electrochemical performance still need to be processed. SnO 2 has drawn great attention as anode material for SIBs because of its high theoretical capacity (1378 mA h g−1). But the large volume change and incomplete electrochemical reaction with sodium-ion during charge/discharge cycles led to its poor electrochemical performance. Herein, a unique hollow paramecium-like SnO 2 /TiO 2 heterostructure is designed for sodium storage. In this SnO 2 /TiO 2 composite, the hollow structure can provide space for the expansion of SnO 2 , and the outside TiO 2 nanoparticles increases the number of active sites for sodium storage. The electrochemical performance of SnO 2 , TiO 2 , and the SnO 2 /TiO 2 electrode are compared. The SnO 2 /TiO 2 architecture illustrates the highest specific capacity and the best cycling stability among the three samples. The result demonstrates that SnO 2 /TiO 2 composite is a promising electrode for SIBs. Image 1 • A hollow paramecium-like SiO 2 /TiO 2 heterostructure has been designed. • This SiO 2 /TiO 2 is a unique heterostructure as anode materials for SIBs. • This structure shows improved cyclability compared with pure SiO 2 and TiO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To design and prepare novel metal oxide-carbon composites are always considered as a feasible way to explore potential candidates for high-performance electrode materials. In this work, we fabricated the unique composites of MnO nanoparticles and graphene-like carbon flakes by pyrolysis of an inorganic-organic layered compound. As precursors, the inorganic-organic layered compounds create a special two-dimensional space, which induces a novel hybrid of MnO nanoparticles and carbon flakes. The as-obtained ultrathin carbon flakes are not smooth but contain numerous caves, where the MnO nanoparticles are located with the even size of 20 nm. This unique compositing pattern of MnO particles and carbons endows the MnO/CS with a larger contact area and a closer combination between active materials and conductive scaffolds, leading to an excellent electrochemical performance as the anode materials of lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An anode material for sodium-ion batteries, Ni-Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)-derived nickel sulfide (NiS 2 ), is first reported. The synthesis strategy involves a novel method in which Ni-based MOFs is fabricated as precursor and then sulfured by sublimed sulfur in solid phase reaction. The as synthesized Ni-MOFs-derived NiS 2 shows a hierarchical durian-like nanostructure made of nanoparticles with the diameter of around 10 nm and amorphous carbon with 3 dimensional conductive net skeleton. Moreover, due to the novel hierarchical nanostructure, sodium ions are able to easily insert/extract into/from the active material. As a result, the as synthesized Ni-MOF-derived NiS 2 nanostructure electrode exhibits high specific capacity and excellent rate performance. We believe that the hierarchical Ni-MOFs-derived NiS 2 nanoparticles will be one of the most promising electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]