The effect of vanadium precursors on the electrochemical performance of Li_1.1V_0.9O₂ as an anode material for Li-ion batteries

Recently, Li_1.1V_0.9O₂ has been considered as one of the most promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries due to its high volumetric capacity at a relatively low intercalation potential. For a scalable and economical production of Li_1.1V_0.9O₂ anode material with a high electrochemical performance, however, the preparation of vanadium precursor with a good quality is of crucial importance. In this work, a high-purity V₂O₃ precursor was prepared through a thermal reduction of commercial V₂O₅ at 600 °C, which is far more cost-effective than V₂O₃. Li_1.1V_0.9O₂ was synthesized by a simple solid-state reaction of Li₂CO₃, as well as V₂O₃ at high temperature under a reducing atmosphere. In the electrochemical measurement, Li_1.1V_0.9O₂ prepared using V₂O₃ from the thermal reduction of V₂O₅ showed considerably higher specific capacity than the one using the commercial V₂O₃, maintaining a specific capacity of about 300 mAh g⁻¹ even after 20 cycles at 0.1 C rate, although it showed a lower coulombic efficiency for the first cycle.