Electrochemical behaviour of V2O5 xerogel in aqueous LiNO3 solution

By dissolving crystalline V2O5 in hydrogen peroxide and drying at elevated temperature, the V2O5 xerogel was obtained. Its electrochemical behaviour was examined in aqueous solution of LiNO3 by both cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charging/discharging cycling. Peak-to-peak potential separation observed at the cyclovoltammograms indicated fast Li+ intercalation/deintercalation reactions. Initial discharge capacity amounted to 69 mAhg(-1), and after 100 charging/discharging cycles, capacity fade amounted to 11% only. This presents a remarkable improvement in comparison with the behaviour of crystalline, vanadium oxide based, lithium intercalates in aqueous electrolytes. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.