Facile preparation and electrochemical properties of large-scale Li1+xV3O8 nanobelts

Large-scale Li1+x V3O8 nanobelts were successfully fabricated using filter paper as deposition substrate through a simple surface sol-gel method. The nanobelts were as long as tens of micrometers with widths of 0.4-1.0 mu m and thickness of 50-100 nm. The nanobelts were characterized by X-ray diffration (XRD), Fourier infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The formation mechanism of the nanobelts was investigated, showing that the morphology of the nanobelts is mainly determined by the calcination temperature. Electrochemical properties of the Li1+x V3O8 nanobelts were characterized by charge-discharge experiments, and the results demonstrate that the Li1+x V3O8 nanobelts exhibit a high discharge capacity (278 mAh g(-1)) and excellent cycling stability.