ABSTRACT
For the first time, we demonstrate that orthorhombic V2O5 can exhibit superior electrochemical performance in sodium ion batteries when uniformly coated inside nanoporous carbon. The encapsulated V2O5 shows a specific capacity as high as 276 mAh/g, while the whole nanocomposite exhibits a capacity of 170 mAh/g. The V2O5/C composite was fabricated by a novel ambient hydrolysis deposition that features sequential water vapor adsorption in nanoporous carbon, followed by a hydrolysis reaction, exclusively inside the nanopores. The unique structure of the nanocomposite significantly enhances the capacity as well as the rate performance of orthorhombic V2O5 where the composite retains a capacity of over 90 mAh/g at a current rate of 640 mA/g. Furthermore, by calculating, we also revealed that a large portion of the sodium-ion storage, particularly at high current rates, is due to the V2O5 pseudocapacitance.
ABSTRACT
A novel ambient hydrolysis deposition (AHD) methodology that employs sequential water adsorption followed by a hydrolysis reaction to infiltrate SnO2 nanoparticles into the nanopores of mesoporous carbon in a conformal and controllable manner is introduced. The empty space in the SnO2/C composites can be adjusted by varying the number of AHD cycles. An SnO2/C composite with an intermediate SnO2 loading exhibited an initial specific delithiation capacity of 1054â mAh g(-1) as an anode for Li-ion batteries. The capacity contribution from SnO2 in the composite electrode approaches the theoretical capacity of SnO2 (1494â mAh g(-1)) if both Sn alloying and SnO2 conversion reactions are considered to be reversible. The composite shows a specific capacity of 573â mAh g(-1) after 300â cycles, that is, one of the most stable cycling performances for SnO2/mesoporous carbon composites. The results demonstrated the importance of well-tuned empty space in nanostructured composites to accommodate expansion of the electrode active mass during alloying/dealloying and conversion reactions.