In-Depth Investigation of Process-Structure-Property Relationship in the Cathode Materials for Li Ion Batteries

Abstract

For li ion batteries, the cathode materials are typically metal oxides or phosphates. Among the commonly-used cathode materials, V2O5 have been considered to be very promising cathode materials. However, the long-standing issues of low intrinsic electronic conductivity, slow lithium-ion diffusion and irreversible phase transitions on deep discharge prevent the high specific capacity/energy vanadium pentoxide from being used as the cathode material in practical battery applications. In this talk, our presentation will be centered on the study of V2O5 as the cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Here we develop a method to incorporate graphene sheets into vanadium pentoxide nanoribbons via the sol–gel process. The resulting graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide hybrids contain only 2 wt. % graphene, yet exhibits extraordinary electrochemical performance. Finally, the in-depth investigation of process-structure-property relationship in these hybrids-based Li-ion batteries has been studied using advanced in situ synchrotron techniques and existing tools.