Recent Progress in the Applications of Vanadium-Based Oxides on Energy Storage: from Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials Synthesis to 3D Micro/Nano-Structures and Free-Standing Electrodes Fabrication

With revolutionary electric vehicles and the smart grid fast developing, more advanced energy storage technologies become quite crucial issues. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Na-ion batteries (NIBs) are considered as the most promising electrochemical energy storage technologies. Low-dimensional nano-structural electrode materials can greatly increase the specific capacity, but they still suffer from poor cycling and rate performances due to their serious self-aggregations. Constructing 3D structures, such as micro/nano-structures and free-standing electrodes, is a quite promising method to address the above issues. Such 3D structures can simultaneously avoid the disadvantages of low-dimensional nanomaterials, and preserve their advantages. As one group of promising high-capacity and low-cost electrode materials, vanadium-based oxides have exhibited an quite attractive electrochemical performance for energy storage applications in many novel works. However, their systematic reviews are quite limited, which is disadvantageous to their further development. Herein, this article provides an overview of vanadium-based oxides in the applications of LIBs and NIBs by focusing mainly on the aspect from low-dimensional nanomaterials synthesis to 3D micro/nano-structures and free-standing electrodes fabrication. Moreover, a feasible strategy to controllably fabricate the 3D micro/nano-structure for the whole vanadium-based oxides family is presented. Furthermore, and importantly, a quite promising solution method for the practical commercialized applications of vanadium oxides cathode materials in the future is proposed, i.e., fabricating the vanadium oxides-based cathode/solid electrolyte/Li metal anode-type all solid-state secondary-ion batteries.