Lattice Breathing Inhibited Layered Vanadium Oxide Ultrathin Nanobelts for Enhanced Sodium Storage

Operating as the "rocking-chair" battery, sodium ion battery (SIB) with acceptable high capacity is a very promising energy storage technology. Layered vanadium oxide xerogel exhibits high sodium storage capacity. But it undergoes large lattice breathing during sodiation/desodiation, resulting in fast capacity fading. Herein, we develop a facile hydrothermal method to synthesize iron preintercalated vanadium oxide ultrathin nanobelts (Fe-VOx) with constricted interlayer spacing. Using the Fe-VOx as cathode for SIB, the lattice breathing during sodiation/desodiation is largely inhibited and the interlayer spacing is stabilized for reversible and rapid Na+ insertion/extraction, displaying enhanced cycling and rate performance. This work presents a new strategy to reduce the lattice breathing of layered materials for enhanced sodium storage through interlayer spacing engineering.