Scalable fabrication of silicon nanotubes and their application to energy storage

The facile synthesis of silicon nanotubes using a surface sol-gel reaction on pyridine nanowire templates is reported and their performance for energy storage is investigated. Organic-inorganic hybrid pyridine/silica core-shell nanowires prepared using surface sol-gel reaction were converted to silica nanotubes by pyrolysis in air; this was followed by the reduction to silicon nanotubes via magnesiothermic reaction. The electrochemical activity of the obtained silicon nanotubes showed excellent cycle stability, suggesting that the hollow one-dimensional structure would be a good candidate for a high-capacity anode for a lithium ion battery.