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Flowerlike Vanadium Sesquioxide: Solvothermal Preparation and Electrochemical Properties
Author(s) -
Liu Haimei,
Wang Yonggang,
Li Huiqiao,
Yang Wensheng,
Zhou Haoshen
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201000436
Subject(s) - high resolution transmission electron microscopy , materials science , vanadium , aqueous solution , electrochemistry , vanadium oxide , scanning electron microscope , transmission electron microscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemical engineering , solvothermal synthesis , specific surface area , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , nanotechnology , electrode , organic chemistry , metallurgy , engineering , composite material , catalysis
A novel 3D hierarchical flowerlike vanadium sesquioxide (V 2 O 3 ) nano/microarchitecture consisting of numerous nanoflakes is prepared via a solvothermal approach followed by an appropriate heating treatment. The as‐obtained nanostructured V 2 O 3 flower is characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (or/and high‐resolution TEM, HRTEM), and it is found that the V 2 O 3 flower is constructed by single‐crystalline nanoflakes. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the surface of the flowerlike V 2 O 3 material is composed of nanostructured pores, which derive from the adsorption/desorption of nitrogen, and that the pore‐size distribution depends on the unique three‐dimensional interconnection between nanoflakes and on their intrinsic properties. The electrochemical behavior of the V 2 O 3 flower for lithium‐ion insertion/extraction in non‐aqueous solution as well as the faradaic capacitance for pesudocapacitors in a neutral aqueous solution are also investigated. A reversible discharge capacity as high as 325 mA h g −1 is obtained at a current density of 0.02 A g −1 from a LiClO 4 /EC:DEC electrolyte solution (i.e. LiClO 4 in ethyl carbonate and diethyl carbonate). When used as the cathode material of pesudocapacitors in Li 2 SO 4 , the flowerlike oxide displayed a very high initial capacitance of 218 F g −1 at a current density of 0.05 A g −1 . We believe that the good performance of the flowerlike V 2 O 3 electrode is most probably due to its unique 3D hierarchical nano/microarchitecture, which shows that the electrochemical properties of a cathodic material do not only depend on the oxidation state of that material but also—to a large extent—on its crystalline structure and morphology. The aforementioned properties suggest that the present V 2 O 3 flower materials may have a great potential to be employed as electrode materials in rechargeable lithium batteries and pesudocapacitors.