Synthesis of γ-LiV₂O₅ nanorods as a high-performance cathode for Li ion battery

Abstract

One-dimension γ-LiV₂O₅ nanorods were synthesized using VO₂(B) nanorods as precursor in this study. The as-prepared material is characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, Fourier-transform infrared, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cyclic voltammetry, and charge–discharge cycling test. TEM results show that LiV₂O₅ nanorods are 90–250 nm in diameter. The nanorods deliver a maximum discharge capacity of 284.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 15 mA g⁻¹ and 270.2 mAh g⁻¹ is maintained at the 15th cycle. Good rate performance is also observed with the discharge capacity of 250.1 and 202.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 50 and 300 mA g⁻¹, respectively. The capacity retention at 300 mA g⁻¹ is 84.2% over 50 cycles. The Li⁺ diffusion coefficient of LiV₂O₅ is calculated to be 10^-10–10⁻⁹ cm² s⁻¹. It is demonstrated that the nanorod morphology could greatly facilitate to shorten lithium ion diffusion pathways and increase the contact area between active material and electrolyte, resulting in high capacity and rate performance for LiV₂O₅.