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3D hollow‐carbon‐spheres/graphene‐flake hybrid nanostructures are controllably prepared from a polypropylene/montmorillonite/Fe3O4 composite by a self‐assembly and subsequent carbonization process. More importantly, in the resultant hollow‐carbon‐spheres/graphene‐flake hybrid structures, the monodispersed small hollow carbon spheres can be distributed on the graphene flake with controllable density. The obtained hollow‐carbon‐spheres/graphene‐flake hybrid nanostructures show improved performance in lithium‐ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: Selective Synthesis of Magnetite Nanospheres with Controllable Morphologies on CNTs and Application to Lithium-Ion Batteries (Phys. In this cover image, three kinds of nanostructures are described as hollow Fe SB 3 sb O SB 4 sb -CNT, mesopore Fe SB 3 sb O SB 4 sb -carbon nanotubes (CNT) and solid Fe SB 3 sb O SB 4 sb -CNT for lithium ion battery (from left to right). And the Fe SB 3 sb O SB 4 sb nanospheres are beaded with CNTs.

Iron oxide is widely used in many areas due to its environmental friendliness, low cost, as well as unique intrinsic properties and the morphology is one of the important parameters determining the physical properties. In this work, Fe3O4 nanospheres with different morphologies are synthesized on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hydrothermally and by controlling the reaction conditions, solid, porous, and hollow Fe3O4 nanospheres are conjugated with CNTs selectively and the three different structures are investigated as anode materials in lithium‐ion batteries. The morphology of Fe3O4 is found to have a profound effect on the electrochemical performance of the lithium‐ion batteries under the same operating conditions. At high current densities, the hollow Fe3O4‐CNT delivers the best electrochemical performance but at low current densities, the solid Fe3O4‐CNT fares the best. The results provide insights into the design of high‐efficiency anode materials in lithium‐ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]