In this article, a facile route using simple hydrothermal reaction and sequential calcinations to synthesize
![](/images/gifchars/alpha.gif)
-Fe
2O
3 hollow nanostructures without employing templates or matrices is presented. By simply changingthe basic source, hollow spindles and microspheres can be selectively synthesized. The concentration of thereagents and the kind of basic source or coordination reagents are verified to have great influence on themorphologies of the products. TEM images clearly show the hollow natures of the as-obtained products.Growth mechanisms for the hollow nanostructures were proposed. Because of the unique hollow structuresof the samples, the potential app
lications of the as-obtained hematite hollow nanostructures on
lithium ionbattery and water treatment were also investigated.