Facet-Selective Deposition of FeO_x on α-MoO₃ Nanobelts for Lithium Storage

One-dimensional heterostructures have attracted significant interests in various applications. However, the selective deposition of shell material on specific sites of the backbone material remains a challenge. Herein, a facile facet-selective deposition strategy has been developed for the construction of heterostructured α-MoO₃@FeO_x nanobelts. Because of the anisotropic feature of α-MoO₃ nanobelts, the FeO_x nanoparticles selectively deposit on the edges of α-MoO₃ nanobelts, that is, the {100} and {001} facets. Such a heterostructure facilitates the electron transfer in lithium storage. As a result, the α-MoO₃@FeO_x nanobelts exhibit high capacities of 913 mA h g^-1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g^-1 and 540 mA h g^-1 after 100 cycles at 1000 mA g^-1. The facet-selective deposition strategy developed here would be extended to the construction of other novel heterostructures with fascinating physical/chemical properties and wide potential applications.