Defect engineering of vanadium dioxide by W ion doping with enhanced electrochemical performance

Abstract

Defects engineering, as an effective protocol to tune the microstructures and electrochemical properties of metal oxide, has been widely used in the fabrication of electrode materials. In this study, the tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide (Wx-VO2) nanorods have been fabricated via a one-step hydrothermal strategy combined with annealing to optimize the structure and performance as the cathode materials for aqueous batteries. The enlarged lattice distance, the formation of W–O bond and the controllable cation vacancies endow the Wx-VO2 nanorods with enhanced electrochemical performance and structural stability. As a result, the capacity retention of Wx-VO2 cathode can reach to 93.2% at 0.1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles, which is considerable compared with other electrode for aqueous batteries. This work offers an efficient strategy for the rational design and controllable fabrication of high-performance electrode materials towards aqueous batteries.