A high-performance dual-function material: self-assembled super long α-Fe2O3 hollow tubes with multiple heteroatom...

Novel heteroatom self-doped super long α-Fe2O3 hollow tubes have been synthesized by the combination of hydrothermal and calcination techniques using the chicken eggshell membrane as a template and a dopant. The obtained α-Fe2O3 super long hollow tubes are composed of closely arranged building blocks (α-Fe2O3 nanorods), which are connected to each other and provide a lot of grain boundaries. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis were used to characterize the structure of the synthesized products. To demonstrate their potential applications, the as-synthesized samples were applied to ethanol (C2H5OH) gas sensors and supercapacitors. When applied as a gas sensor, the α-Fe2O3 material exhibits a high gas sensitivity, excellent recovery properties (9 s at 100 ppm C2H5OH concentration) and perfect selectivity to ethanol. As an electrode in a supercapacitor, α-Fe2O3 shows a high specific capacitance (330 F g(-1) at a current density of 0.5 A g(-1)) with good cycling stability (64% maintained over after 2000 cycles). The excellent sensing and supercapacitor performances could be attributed to the unique super long hollow tubes combined with the abundant pore volume and the small amount of heteroatom doping.