Effect of Zn2+, Ti2+ dopants on structural, optical and electrochemical properties of V2O5 nanoparticles synthesized via non-aqueous sol–gel route

Abstract

Transition divalent metal cations (Zn2+, Ti2+) doped V2O5 nanoparticles were synthesized via non-aqueous sol–gel route. The influence of dopant materials on the characteristics of V2O5 nanoparticles was studied. XRD studies ensure that all the prepared samples possess phase pure orthorhombic structure. From the FESEM images, it was noted that the products possess uniform particle size around 20–30 nm. The presence of functional groups and dopants was confirmed by FTIR, Raman, and elemental analysis respectively. From UV–Vis spectra, the significant blue shift was observed for doped samples compared to pure V2O5 nanoparticles, which is attributed to the quantum confinement effect. The high capacity retention of the intercalation compound was measured by using C–V study and implies that the prepared samples are very promising electrode materials for supercapacitor.