Herein, SiO2 nanotubes have been fabricated via a facile two step hard-template growth method and evaluated as an anode for Li-ion batteries. SiO2 nanotubes exhibit a highly stable reversible capacity of 1266 mAhg−1 after 100 cycles with negligible capacity fading. SiO2 NT anodes experience a capacity increase throughout the first 80 cycles through Si phase growth via SiO2 reduction. The hollow morphology of the SiO2 nanotubes accommodates the large volume expansion experienced by Si-based anodes during lithiation and promotes preservation of the solid electrolyte interphase layer. The thin walls of the SiO2 nanotubes allow for effective reduction in Li-ion diffusion path distance and, thus, afford a favorable rate cyclability. The high aspect ratio character of these nanotubes allow for a relatively scalable fabrication method of nanoscale SiO2-based anodes.

Synthesis of atomically thin MoS2 layers and its derivatives with large‐area uniformity is an essential step to exploit the advanced properties of MoS2 for their possible applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, a facile method is reported for the continuous synthesis of atomically thin MoS2 layers at wafer scale through thermolysis of a spin coated‐ammonium tetrathiomolybdate film. The thickness and surface morphology of the sheets are characterized by atomic force microscopy. The optical properties are studied by UV–Visible absorption, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The compositional analysis of the layers is done by X‐ray photo­emission spectroscopy. The atomic structure and morphology of the grains in the polycrystalline MoS2 atomic layers are examined by high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy. The electron mobilities of the sheets are evaluated using back‐gate field‐effect transistor configuration. The results indicate that this facile method is a promising approach to synthesize MoS2 thin films at the wafer scale and can also be applied to synthesis of WS2 and hybrid MoS2‐WS2 thin layers.

Oxygen annealing of thick MoS2 films results in randomly oriented and controllable triangular etched shapes, forming pits with uniform etching angles. These etching morphologies differ across the sample based on the defect sites situated on the basal plane surface, forming numerous features in different bulk sample thicknesses.

In this work, we report the synthesis of an three-dimensional (3D) cone-shape CNT clusters (CCC) via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with subsequent inductively coupled plasma (ICP) treatment. An innovative silicon decorated cone-shape CNT clusters (SCCC) is prepared by simply depositing amorphous silicon onto CCC via magnetron sputtering. The seamless connection between silicon decorated CNT cones and graphene facilitates the charge transfer in the system and suggests a binder-free technique of preparing lithium ion battery (LIB) anodes. Lithium ion batteries based on this novel 3D SCCC architecture demonstrates high reversible capacity of 1954 mAh g(-1) and excellent cycling stability (>1200 mAh g(-1) capacity with ≈ 100% coulombic efficiency after 230 cycles).