Xiong Wen (David) Lou and colleagues, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, demonstrated a crystal-structureand shape-mediated formation mechanism to synthesize MnS microboxes with a single-crystalline shell structure. The MnS microcubes are formed by H₂S gas sulfidation of MnCO₃ microcubes at 350–800 °C. With the increase in sulfidation temperature, porous MnS microcubes are first formed at around 350 °C, followed by MnS microcubes with many internal small voids, and finally MnS microboxes with a welldefined single large cavity.

Compared with the widely used solution methods, in which the concentration of the precursors is usually very low, the reaction of pre-grown solid precursors with a gas provides a more scalable synthesis of highly uniform hollow structures. When evaluated as potential anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the as-prepared MnS microboxes exhibit high lithium storage capacity and excellent cycling performance.

• Unusual Formation of Single-Crystal Manganese Sulfide Microboxes Co-mediated by the Cubic Crystal Structure and Shape,
  Lei Zhang, Liang Zhou, Hao Bin Wu, Rong Xu, Xiong Wen (David) Lou,
  Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51.
  DOI: 10.1002/anie.201202877