Preparation of Nanostrip V2O5 by the Polyol Method and Its Electrochemical Characterization as Cathode Material for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

The synthesis of pure nanostrip orthorhombic V2O5 was carried out by a simple two-step procedure, with the formation of a vanadyl ethylene glycolate precursor and postcalcination treatment. The precursor and the final product were characterized for its phase and composition by powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The morphological changes were investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the individual strips have around the following dimensions: length, 1.3 mu m; width, 332 nm; thickness, 45 nm. The electrochemical lithium intercalation and deintercalation of nanostrip V2O5 was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. From charge-discharge cycling, the initial discharge capacity of the nanostrip was found to be about 427 mAh g(-1). However, it decreased due to inherent phase changes on repeated cycling.