Synergistic effect of SnO2/ZnWO4 core-shell nanorods with high reversible lithium storage capacity.

High reversible lithium storage capacity is obtained from novel SnO2/ZnWO4 core-shell nanorods. At C/20 (20 h per half cycle) rate, the reversible capacity of SnO2/ZnWO4 core-shell nanorods is as high as 1000 mA h g(-1), much higher than that of pure ZnWO4, SnO2, or the traditional theoretical result of the simple mixture. Such performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect between the nanostructured SnO2 and ZnWO4. The distinct electrochemical activity of ZnWO4 nanorods probably activates the irreversible capacity of the SnO2 nanoparticles. These results indicate that high-performance lithium ion batteries can be realized by introducing the synergistic effect of one-dimensional core-shell nanocomposites.