Carbon-coated V2O5 nanoparticles with enhanced electrochemical performance as a cathode material for lithium ion batteries

Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is a promising cathode material for high energy Li-ion batteries (LIBs), because of its low cost, abundance, and high theoretical capacity. V2O5 has a theoretical capacity of 294 mA h g(-1) at 2.0-4.0 V and 441 mA h g(-1) at 1.5-4.0 V, corresponding to redox reactions with two and three lithium ions, respectively. However, V2O5 has disadvantages of low electrical conductivity and slow lithium ion diffusion, resulting in poor cycling stability and rate capability. In this study, carbon-coated V2O5 is synthesized by impregnating the aqueous V2O5 precursor ((NH4()2)[VO(C2O4)(2)]) into the pores of a carbon foam, and controlled thermal treatment under an inert atmosphere in a facile and scalable method. The carbon-coated V2O5 shows enhanced cycling stability and rate capability compared to nano-sized V2O5. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.