Vanadium-based nanostructure materials for secondary lithium battery applications

Vanadium-based materials, such as V2O5, LiV3O8, VO2(B) and Li3V2(PO4)(3) are compounds that share the characteristic of intercalation chemistry. Their layered or open frameworks allow facile ion movement through the interspaces, making them promising cathodes for LIB applications. To bypass bottlenecks occurring in the electrochemical performances of vanadium-based cathodes that derive from their intrinsic low electrical conductivity and ion diffusion coefficients, nano-engineering strategies have been implemented to "create" newly emerging properties that are unattainable at the bulk solid level. Integrating this concept into vanadium-based cathodes represents a promising way to circumvent the aforementioned problems as nanostructuring offers potential improvements in electrochemical performances by providing shorter mass transport distances, higher electrode/electrolyte contact interfaces, and better accommodation of strain upon lithium uptake/release. The significance of nanoscopic architectures has been exemplified in the literature, showing that the idea of developing vanadium-based nanostructures is an exciting prospect to be explored. In this review, we will be casting light on the recent advances in the synthesis of nanostructured vanadium-based cathodes. Furthermore, efficient strategies such as hybridization with foreign matrices and elemental doping are introduced as a possible way to boost their electrochemical performances (e.g., rate capability, cycling stability) to a higher level. Finally, some suggestions relating to the perspectives for the future developments of vanadium-based cathodes are made to provide insight into their commercialization.