Cathodic performance of V2O5 nanowires and reduced graphene oxide composites for lithium ion batteries

In this study, vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanowires (NWs) with a diameter of 100–200 nm and a length of up to several micrometers as cathode for lithium ion batteries are synthesize using an electrospinning method. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and V₂O₅ NWs (GVO) composites are form by wet mixing the electrospun V₂O₅ NWs and rGO. Surface morphologies, microstructure and elemental mapping, and chemical bonding states of the composites are characterize. The initial and 60 cycles discharge capacities of GVO composite composed of 1 wt% rGO show up to 225 mAh g⁻¹ and 125 mAh g⁻¹, even higher than pure V₂O₅ NWs, when the lithium ion battery cycled between 2.0 and 4.0 V with a rate of 0.2 C, because of highly conductive rGO. The GVO composite could be promising as a high performance cathode for lithium ion batteries.     

XPS study of vanadium surface oxidation by oxygen ion bombardment

Oxidation of vanadium metal surfaces at room temperature by low-energy oxygen ion beams is investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is observed that ion-beam irradiation of clean V results in formation of thin oxide layer containing vanadium in oxidation states corresponding to VO, V₂O₃, VO₂ and V₂O₅ oxides. The composition of the products of ion-beam oxidation depends markedly on oxygen ion fluence. The results of angle-resolved XPS measurements are consistent with a structure of oxide film with the outermost part enriched in V₂O₅ and VO₂ oxides and with V₂O₃ and VO oxides located in the inner region of the oxide layer.     

Formation of Fe and Fe2O3 Microspirals via Interfacial Synthesis

A new method is reported for obtaining microspirals of iron‐based compounds by interfacial interaction. A thin film of Fe(OH)₃ is obtained as a result of interaction between an aqueous solution of iron salts and gaseous ammonia. Upon drying, it is transformed into Fe(OH)₃ microspirals with a diameter of up to 10 µm. These microspirals can be transformed into Fe₂O₃ microspirals by annealing in air. As a result of hydrogen reduction, Fe microspirals are formed. Both the annealing in air and that in hydrogen allow the retaining of the morphology. The material synthesized is characterized by electronic microscopy methods, X‐ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared, and Mössbauer and photoelectron spectroscopies. The electrocatalytic properties of the electrode based on Fe₂O₃ microspirals as a catalyst of hydrogen evolution and the magnetic properties of Fe microspirals are tested. A hypothesis is proposed on the formation of microspirals by the gas–solution interface technique.     

Effects of electron localization in V2 − y O3

The effect of nonstoichiometry on the metal-insulator phase transition in V₂O₃ is studied. It is established that an increase in the vanadium deficiency in V2 ? yO₃ brings about a shift in the phase transition temperature toward lower temperatures and an increase in the width of the temperature hysteresis loop of the electrical conductivity. As the vanadium deficiency increases to a level corresponding to the composition ～V_1.974O₃, the phase transition completely disappears and the sample remains metallic down to T = 1.6 K. The magnetoresistance is measured for samples of this composition in longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields at T = 4.2 K.     

The thermochemistry of the hydrogen vanadium bronzes HxV2O5

The enthalpies of formation of seven hydrogen vanadium bronzes, H_xV₂O₅(0<x⩽3.77), prepared at ambient temperature by “hydrogen spillover”, have been determined by solution calorimetry. The enthalpy values obtained for their formation from H₂(g) and V₂O₅(s) at 298.15 K are (in kJ mol⁻¹): H_0.22V₂O₅, −1569.95 ± 1.75; H_0.46V₂O₅, −1589.96 ± 1.69; H_1.43V₂O₅, − 1670.53 ± 1.88; H_1.87V₂O₅, −1700.56 ± 1.58; H_2.79V₂O₅, −1744.23 ± 1.72; H_3.53V₂O₅, −1772.98 ± 2.38; H_3.77V₂O₅, −1781.10 ± 2.27. The stabilities of the compounds towards decomposition, disproportion and oxidation are discussed.     

小尺寸VmOn+团簇的激光光解和密度泛函计算

通过激光溅射法产生了V₂O_n⁺ (n=1, 2), V₃O_n⁺ (n=1, 2, 3)和V₄O₃⁺等缺氧的钒氧团簇,并采用532和266 nm波长的激光对它们进行了光解研究. 利用密度泛函理论计算与激光光解实验相结合确定了这些团簇的几何结构和可能的光解通道. 激光光解实验表明V相似文献   

Tailoring of electrochemical properties of V2O5 thin films grown on flexible substrates using plasma-assisted activated reactive evaporation

The vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) thin films have been deposited using home built activated reactive evaporation technique on indium tin oxide-coated flexible Kapton substrates and investigated their microstructural and electrochemical properties. X-ray diffraction pattern displayed predominant (001) orientation designating the orthorhombic structure of the films deposited at optimised growth conditions. The surface of the films is observed to be composed of vertical elliptical-shaped grains of size 98 nm distributed uniformly over the surface of the films provided with root mean square surface roughness of 9 nm as evidenced from atomic force microscopy studies. As-deposited V₂O₅ thin films demonstrated constant discharge capacity of about 60 μAh/(cm² _?μm) for 10 cycles at room temperature in the potential window of 4.0–2.5 V. The influence of silver (Ag) interlayer on electrochemical properties of V₂O₅ films was investigated and observed appreciable improvement in electrochemical performance of ‘V₂O₅/Ag/V₂O₅’ films. The multilayered V₂O₅/Ag/V₂O₅ films exhibited a discharge capacity of about 75 μAh/(cm² _?μm) provided with enhanced cycliability.     

SIMS,EID and flash-filament investigation of O2, H2, (O2 + H2) and H2O interaction with vanadium

Comparative investigations of secondary ion emission, electron induced ion emission and flash filament signals from polycrystalline vanadium surfaces exposed to well-defined O₂, H₂, H₂O and (O₂ + H₂) doses (<500 L) have been carried out. The vanadium target could be heated and bombarded by either electrons (300 eV) or ions (3 keV) under ultra high vacuum conditions (<10^?10 Torr). The investigations were carried out with a computer controlled ultra high vacuum mass spectrometer. The experimental results establish exact reproducible spectra of well defined surface layers. They give detailed insight into the reactions between H₂, O₂ H₂O and vanadium, and some interactions between these species. They further indicate the importance of bulk and surface diffusion as well as the influence of the probing ion and electron bombardment. A clear distinction between bulk oxygen, surface oxides, and adsorbed oxygen for the vanadium-oxygen interaction at room temperature could be established. For the interaction of hydrogen with clean and oxygen covered vanadium surfaces the formation of adsorbed hydrogen, bulk solution of hydrogen, and the formation of OH groups and H₂O could be demonstrated. A detection limit below 10^?5 of one single monolayer for metal bonded hydrogen could be established.     

Dispersion of V2O5 supported on a TiO2 by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy surface

The dispersion of V₂O₅ in V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysis has been studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and a thermal gravimetric analysis for samples with various V₂O₅ content. The coverage, thickness and dispersion of vanadium oxide were calculated by a quantitative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The experimental results show that V₂O₅ is well dispersed on a TiO₂ surface at low VEOs content. The coverage increases rapidly with the V₂O₅ content up to 10 wt%. Beyond that, the coverage increases very slowly, and considerable parts of the TiO₂ surface remain bare even at a V₂O₅ content as high as 40 wt%. The vanadium oxide is probably present on the TiO₂ surface as isolated patches or islands. This investigation shows that x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is also a powerful tool for obtaining information about the dispersion of supported species in catalytic research.     

Vanadium-Al2O3 nanostructured thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition: Optical switching

The formation and optical response of VO_x nanoparticles embedded in amorphous aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) thin films by pulsed laser deposition is studied. The thin films have been grown by alternate laser ablation of V and Al₂O₃ targets, which has resulted in a multilayer structure with embedded nanoparticles. The V content has been varied by changing the number of pulses on the V target. It is found that VO_x nanoparticles with dimensions around 5 nm have been formed. The structural analysis shows that the vanadium nanoparticles are oxidized, although probably there is not a unique oxide phase for each sample. The films show a different optical response depending on their vanadium content. Optical switching as a function of temperature has been observed for the two films with the highest vanadium content, at transition temperatures of about −20 °C and 315 °C thus suggesting the presence of nanoparticles with compositions V₄O₇ and V₂O₅, respectively.     

Plasmonics properties of trimetallic Al@Al2O3@Ag@Au and Al@Al2O3@AuAg nanostructures

Bimetallic and trimetallic nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in recent times due to their enhanced electrochemical and catalytic properties compared to monometallic nanoparticles. The numerical calculations using Mie theory has been carried out for three-layered metal nanoshell dielectric–metal–metal (DMM) system consisting of a particle with a dielectric core (Al@Al₂O₃), a middle metal Ag (Au) layer and an outer metal Au (Ag) shell. The results have been interpreted using plasmon hybridization theory. We have also prepared Al@Al₂O₃@Ag@Au and Al@Al₂O₃@AgAu triple-layered core–shell or alloy nanostructure by two-step laser ablation method and compared with calculated results. The synthesis involves temporal separations of Al, Ag, and Au deposition for step-by-step formation of triple-layered core–shell structure. To form Al@Ag nanoparticles, we ablated silver for 40 min in aluminium nanoparticle colloidal solution. As aluminium oxidizes easily in water to form alumina, the resulting structure is core–shell Al@Al₂O₃. The Al@Al₂O₃ particle acts as a seed for the incoming energetic silver particles for multilayered Al@Al₂O₃@Ag nanoparticles is formed. The silver target was then replaced by gold target and ablation was carried out for different ablation time using different laser energy for generation of Al@Al₂O₃@Ag@Au core–shell or Al@Al₂O₃@AgAu alloy. The formation of core–shell and alloy nanostructure was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy. The absorption spectra show shift in plasmon resonance peak of silver to gold in the range 400–520 nm with increasing ablation time suggesting formation of Ag–Au alloy in the presence of alumina particles in the solution.     

Facile hydrothermal synthesis of ultrahigh-aspect-ratio V2O5 nanowires for high-performance supercapacitors

Ultrahigh-aspect-ratio V₂O₅ nanowires were successfully prepared using [VO(O₂)₂(OH₂)]⁻ as the starting material by a template-free hydrothermal route without the addition of organic surfactant or inorganic ions. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD). The results revealed that the peroxovanadium (V) complexes can be easily transformed to V₂O₅ nanowires by this hydrothermal route. The uniform nanowires were with width about 50 nm and length about dozens of micron. The BET analysis showed the V₂O₅ nanowires had a high specific surface area of 25.6 m² g⁻¹. The synthesized V₂O₅ nanowires performed a high capacitance of 351 F g⁻¹ when used as supercapacitor electrode in 1 mol L⁻¹ LiNO₃.     

One-step synthesis of Fe3O4 nanorods/graphene nanocomposites

A composite of graphene (GE) supported by rod-like Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals has been fabricated by a simple one-step chemical route. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results show that the Fe₃O₄ nanorods with diameters in the range of 15?C20 nm and lengths of 150?C200 nm were firmly assembled on the GE nanosheet surface. Magnetic property investigation indicated that the Fe₃O₄/GE composites exhibit a ferromagnetic behavior and possess a saturation magnetization of 50.11?emu?g^?1. Moreover, Fe₃O₄/GE composites showed a very high adsorption capacity of Congo red.     

Oxygen K-edge in vanadium oxides: simulations and experiments

Band-structure (BS) calculations of the density of states (DOS) using the full potential augmented plane waves code WIEN97 were performed on the four single-valence vanadium oxides VO, V₂O₃, VO₂ and V₂O₅. The DOS are discussed with respect to the distortions of the VO₆ octahedra, the oxidation states of vanadium and the orbital hybridisations of oxygen atoms. The simulated oxygen K-edge fine structures (ELNES) calculated with the TELNES program were compared with experimental results obtained by electron energy-loss spectrometry (EELS), showing good agreement. We show that changes in the fine structures of the investigated vanadium oxides mainly result from changes in the O-p DOS and not from the shift of the DOS according to a rigid band model. Received 17 December 2001 / Received in final form 19 June 2002 Published online 13 August 2002     

Room-temperature epitaxial growth of V2O3 films

Herein we report the room-temperature epitaxial growth of V2O3 films by laser molecule beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction profiles show the room-temperature epitaxial V2O3 films orient in the [110] direction on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates. Atomic force microscopy measurements reveal that the ultra-smooth surfaces with root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.11 nm and 0.28 nm for 10-nm-thick and 35-nm-thick V+2O3 film, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate the V3 oxidation state in the films. Typical metal-insulator transition is observed in films at about 135 K. The resistivities at 300 K are approximately 0.8 mΩ cm and 0.5 mΩ cm for 10-nm-thick and 35-nm-thick V2O3 film, respectively.     

Electrochemical and structural properties of MoO3–V2O5 nanocomposite thin film electrodes for lithium rechargeable batteries

We have investigated the electrochemical properties of V₂O₅-based thin film electrodes as a function of the amount of MoO₃ by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD results show that the V₂O₅-based thin film electrodes give an amorphous characteristic. XPS results reveal the formation of V₂O₅ and MoO₃ phases. TEM results show that MoO₃ dots (5–30 nm in size) are embedded in the amorphous V₂O₅ matrix. It is further shown that cells fabricated with the MoO₃–V₂O₅ nanocomposite thin film electrodes give better cycling performance than those made with the single V₂O₅ thin film electrodes. A possible explanation for the MoO₃ nano-dot dependence on the cycling performance of the V₂O₅-based thin film electrodes is described.     

Influence of V2O5 on the magnetic properties of nickel–zinc–copper ferrites

Additions of V₂O₅ were used to decrease the sintering temperature and to enhance the densification of NiZnCu ferrite. With a small amount of V₂O₅ (0.6–1.2 wt%) as a sintering aid, densification at low sintering temperature was observed. EDS analyses showed the presence of vanadium inside the ferrite grains. Microstructure investigation revealed heterogeneous grain size. Magnetic properties were deteriorated when increasing the V₂O₅ content. As a consequence, the permeability decreased and the core losses increased, which can be explained by the pinning of the domain walls to the grain defects.     

Elastic constants of semiconducting Ti2O3 and metallic (Ti1−xVx)2O3 at 1.5 K

Ultrasonic measurements at 1.5 K reveal that the elastic constants of metallic (Ti_1-xV_x)₂O₃ differ from those of semiconducting Ti₂O₃. This is explained in terms of how vanadium influences the electronic energy band structure and the lattice parameters. The electronic effect is calculated as the strain-induced shift of Van Zandt's vanadium impurity band relative to the titanium valence band. The lattice parameter effect is compared with how pressure influences the elastic constants of Al₂O₃.     

Synthesis of carbon-coated Fe3O4 nanorods as electrode material for supercapacitor

Carbon-coated Fe₃O₄ and pure Fe₃O₄ nanorods are synthesized via hydrothermal reaction and subsequent sintering procedure. The as-prepared products characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis indicate that carbon coating does not affect the structure and morphology of Fe₃O₄. Transmission electron microscope shows that Fe₃O₄ nanorods are homogeneously coated by carbon layer with a thickness of approximately 2 nm. The electrochemical properties measured by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests show that carbon-coated Fe₃O₄ (Fe₃O₄/C) nanorods present improved electrochemical performance due to the carbon layer. A specific capacitance of 275.9 F?g^?1 is achieved at a current density of 0.5 A g^?1 in 1 M Na₂SO₃ aqueous solution for the Fe₃O₄/C nanorods in comparison to that of 208.6 F?g^?1 for pure Fe₃O₄.     

Semiconductor-metal transition in v-doped Ti3O5

The semiconductor-metal transition in Ti₃O₅ is significantly affected by vanadium doping. The unit cell volume, ΔH, Δ? as well as Δ_χM decrease markedly up to 0.1% V₃O₅ and gradually thereafter until at ～ 10% V₃O₅, the transition disappears.