One‐pot solution combustion synthesis of crystalline and amorphous molybdenum trioxide as anode for lithium‐ion battery

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, crystalline MoO3 rods and amorphous MoO3 microsheets were synthesized using a one‐step, large‐scale, and time‐ and energy‐efficient solution combustion synthesis method. When urea was used as a fuel, ultralong rod‐like crystalline MoO3 with a length over 50 μm was synthesized. In the case of citric acid, an amorphous MoO3 product with a porous microsheet structure was obtained. As anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries, the unique structure of amorphous MoO3 sample has significant advantages including fast diffusion of lithium ion, providing a lot of active sites for lithium ion storage and stable structure. Thus, the amorphous MoO3 sample exhibits greater electrochemical performance, a high capacity of 818 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 in the 100th cycle and 510 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 in the 300th cycle, than that of crystalline MoO3 product. Moreover, this study provides guide for preparing other amorphous and crystalline transition‐metal oxides with a pure phase.