Zn3V3O8 nanostructures: Facile hydrothermal/solvothermal synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical hydrogen storage

Abstract

In this paper, a controlled hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize spherical-like Zn3V3O8 nanostructures. Reaction control was performed using hydrazine and ethylenediamine as new reactants. Other effective parameters such as solvent and surfactant were also carefully investigated and optimized, and the products were then identified by EDS, XRD, FTIR, and FESEM analyses. XRD results showed that Zn3V3O8 was formed using hydrazine while ZnO was the main product in the presence of NaOH, which is commonly utilized to produce metal oxides. SEM images showed that by adjusting the concentration of ethylenediamine and hydrazine, the morphology could be controlled by aggregating the nanoparticles to form uniform spherical structures with appropriate porosity. Owing to the high potential of Zn3V3O8 in electrochemical processes, it was used for electrochemical hydrogen storage for the first time, which exhibited a high power of 3325 m Ah/g after 20 cycles.