Synthesis, characterization and electrochemical behavior of the vanadium pentoxide/cetyl pyridinium chloride hybrid material

In situ and ex situ studies concerning the new hybrid material vanadium pentoxide xerogel in the presence of the cationic surfactant cetyl pyridinium chloride (V2O5/CPC) are presented. The in situ characterization studies revealed the presence of a lamellar structure for the V2O5/CPC hybrid material. The intercalation reaction was evidenced on the basis of the increase in the d-spacing as well as the displacement of the infrared bands toward lower energy levels. Electrochemical studies comprising the cyclic voltammetry and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques showed that the behavior of the hybrid material is considerably influenced by the electrolyte composition. The ion insertion/de-insertion into the V2O5 xerogel structure accompanying the charge transfer process is influenced by the solid-state diffusion process modeled by using the finite-space Warburg element.