Growth and electrochemical properties of single-crystalline V2O5 nanorod arrays

Growth and electrochemical properties of single-crystalline vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanorod arrays were investigated. Vanadium pentoxide nanorod arrays were grown by electrochemical deposition, surface condensation induced by a pH change and sol electrophoretic deposition. Uniformly sized vanadium oxide nanorods with a length of about 10 Put and diameters of 100 or 200nm were grown over a large area with near-unidirectional alignment. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs and electron diffraction patterns Of V2O5 nanorods clearly show the single-crystalline nature of nanorods fabricated via all three growth routes with a growth direction of [010]. The growth mechanisms of single-crystal V2O5 nanorods have been discussed. Electrochemical analysis revealed that nanorod array electrodes possess significantly improved storage capacity and charge/discharge rate with approximately 5 times higher applicable current density than those of sol-gel derived films. Furthermore, for a given current density, the nanorod array electrode can intercalate up to 3.5 times higher concentration of Li+ intercalation. The relationships between electrochemical property, nano- and microstructure, and growth mechanisms have been discussed.