Soft Template Synthesis Research Articles

Soft-templating synthesis of mesoporous MnSiOx composites as catalytic supports for Pd nanoparticles towards solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol under atmospheric pressure O2

Solvent-free and liquid-phase selective oxidation of aromatic alcohols using O2 as an oxidant is a green strategy for the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes and other carbonyl compounds. Wherein, the design and preparation of heterogeneous catalysts with high activity and selectivity is a hot topic in this process. Herein, a series of manganese oxide-silica (MnSiOx) composites were synthesized using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a soft template. During the preparation process, the amounts of tetraethyl orthosilicate and ammonia and the calcination temperature significantly affected the textural properties and Mn cation distributions of MnSiOx. The MnSiOx composites were then employed as catalysts for Pd nanoparticles. In the solvent-free and atmospheric conditions, Pd/MnSiOx materials showed high catalytic conversions of benzyl alcohol (BZA), and the catalytic activity thereof is related to the fractions of Pd0 and Mn3+. As the reaction time and temperature are 4 h and 90 °C, the conversion of BZA (feeding dosage: 4 mL) and the selectivity of benzaldehyde are 64.8 % and 94.9 %, respectively. The catalyst can be reused at least five times without any significant loss of activity. Furthermore, the correlation between physiochemical properties and catalytic activity of Pd/MnSiOx was analyzed.

Soft-templating synthesis of hierarchical mordenite as high-performance catalyst for cyclic acetals production via acetylation of glycerol and benzaldehyde

Highly active hierarchical mordenite zeolite with micro/mesoporosity (TM-n) for selective synthesis of cyclic acetals via acetylation reaction is reported. The hierarchical zeolite is synthesized using soft-templating approach with variations in octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS/Al2O3 ratio, n = 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) in precursor hydrogels. The results reveal that OTMS not only creates secondary mesoporosity in zeolite framework (larger mesopore volume, external surface area, average pore diameter), but also influences the crystallization process, altering the crystal morphology, crystallinity and Si/Al ratios. Among TM-n zeolites prepared, TM-0.3 hierarchical mordenite has the optimum OTMS amount incorporated while further increasing the OTMS amount leads to the formation of ANA/GIS intergrowth. Thanks to the accessible hierarchical porosity, reduced acidity and morphological effects, the TM-0.3 hierarchical mordenite exhibits excellent catalytic performance (84.1% conversion, TOF = 0.087 s−1, 61.5% dioxolane selectivity) in acetylation of glycerol and benzaldehyde (160 °C, 20 min) better than pristine mordenite. The catalyst is reusable for five runs with minimal loss of activity (TOF = 0.087 → 0.084 s−1), making it a promising catalyst for chemical productions involving bulky molecules. In addition, comparative catalytic tests with classical homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, including H2SO4, HCl, CH3COOH, H–Y, H-LTL, Na-X, Na-A, were performed.

Non-enzymatic amperometric glucose sensing by novel Cu-MOF synthesized at room temperature

Cu-metal–organic framework (Cu-MOF) derived from 1,2,4,5-benzene tetracarboxylic acid (H4BTC) has been synthesized through a quick and soft-template synthesis at room temperature.

Highly-Controlled Soft-Templating Synthesis of Hollow ZIF-8 Nanospheres for Selective CO2 Separation and Storage.

Global warming is an ever-rising environmental concern, and carbon dioxide (CO2) is among its major causes. Different technologies, including adsorption, cryogenic separation, and sequestration, have been developed for CO2 separation and storage/utilization. Among these, carbon capture using nano-adsorbents has the advantages of excellent CO2 separation and storage performance as well as superior heat- and mass-transfer characteristics due to their large surface area and pore volume. In this work, an environmentally friendly, facile, bottom-up synthesis of ZIF-8 hollow nanospheres (with reduced chemical consumption) was developed for selective CO2 separation and storage. During this soft-templating synthesis, a combined effect of ultra-sonication and low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis showed better control over an oil-in-water microemulsion formation and the subsequent growth of large-surface-area hollow ZIF-8 nanospheres having excellent particle size distribution. Systematic studies on the synthesis parameters were also performed to achieve fine-tuning of the ZIF-8 crystallinity, hollow structures, and sphere size. The optimized hollow ZIF-8 nanosphere sample having uniform size distribution exhibited remarkable CO2 adsorption capability (∼2.24 mmol g-1 at 0 °C and 1.75 bar), a CO2/N2 separation selectivity of 12.15, a good CO2 storage capacity (1.5-1.75 wt %), and an excellent cyclic adsorption/desorption performance (up to four CO2 adsorption/desorption cycles) at 25 °C. In addition, the samples showed exceptional structural stability with only ∼15% of overall weight loss up to 600 °C under a nitrogen environment. Therefore, the hollow ZIF-8 nanospheres as well as their highly controlled soft-templating synthesis method reported in this work are useful in the course of the development of nanomaterials with optimized properties for future CO2 capture technologies.

Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting with ITO/WO3/BiVO4/CoPi Multishell Nanotubes Enabled by a Vacuum and Plasma Soft-Template Synthesis.

A common approach for the photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water relies on the application of WO3 porous electrodes sensitized with BiVO4 acting as a visible photoanode semiconductor. In this work, we propose a new architecture of photoelectrodes consisting of supported multishell nanotubes (NTs) fabricated by a soft-template approach. These NTs are formed by a concentric layered structure of indium tin oxide (ITO), WO3, and BiVO4, together with a final thin layer of cobalt phosphate (CoPi) co-catalyst. The photoelectrode manufacturing procedure is easily implementable at a large scale and successively combines the thermal evaporation of single crystalline organic nanowires (ONWs), the magnetron sputtering deposition of ITO and WO3, and the solution dripping and electrochemical deposition of, respectively, BiVO4 and CoPi, plus the annealing in air under mild conditions. The obtained NT electrodes depict a large electrochemically active surface and outperform the efficiency of equivalent planar-layered electrodes by more than one order of magnitude. A thorough electrochemical analysis of the electrodes illuminated with blue and solar lights demonstrates that the characteristics of the WO3/BiVO4 Schottky barrier heterojunction control the NT electrode efficiency, which depended on the BiVO4 outer layer thickness and the incorporation of the CoPi electrocatalyst. These results support the high potential of the proposed soft-template methodology for the large-area fabrication of highly efficient multishell ITO/WO3/BiVO4/CoPi NT electrodes for the PEC splitting of water.

Soft-templating synthesis of mesoporous alumina enriched with lanthana and its potential as diclofenac delivery system

This work reports the soft-templating synthesis of Al2O3/La2O3, its physicochemical and structural characterization, and application as diclofenac (DFC) delivery system. The porous and chemical structure of the prepared sample were examined by N2 adsorption, scanning and transmission electron microscopy as well as infrared spectroscopy. The soft-templating synthesis enabled the formation of a mesoporous structure of alumina enriched with lanthana, having a well-developed surface area approaching 156 m2/g, average pore size of 10.3 nm, and average pore volume of 0.32 cm3/g. TEM images revealed the presence of an ordered structure of Al2O3/La2O3 consisting of hexagonal mesopores in the material. Based on X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry analysis, the effectiveness of lanthana incorporation to alumina structure was confirmed. The designed material was tested as a potential diclofenac delivery system with a maximum sorption capacity of 82 mg/g. Equilibrium and kinetic evaluations suggested that DFC sorption onto Al2O3/La2O3 is quite complex and may occur due to hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The impact of pH on the sorption process was significant – DFC sorption was favorable in an acidic environment. The release tests of the DFC adsorbed on the surface of Al2O3/La2O3 were carried out to determine the stability of their interactions. System was analyzed at pH 7.2 and 1.2, reaching 50% and nearly 80% of DFC release, respectively, which suggest possible application of designed material as a new carrier for the sustained release of different active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Solvent-Free Soft-Template Synthesis of Highly Ordered Mesoporous Carbons via Self-Assembly Promoted by Mg(NO3)2

To improve the pore uniformity and volume of ordered mesoporous carbons produced by soft templating under solvent-free conditions, magnesium nitrate inorganic salt was incorporated into the precursors during the synthesis. The addition of magnesium nitrate in this procedure lowered the melting point of resorcinol, increased the diffusivity of the resorcinol-Pluronic F127 complex, and promoted self-assembly. The entry of Mg species into the core of the micelle of Pluronic F127 resulted in a modification of the pore structure resembling a channel-like hexagonal structure. In addition, the MgO in the pores effectively prevented the shrinkage of the mesopores under high-temperature conditions. Correspondingly, the uniformity and the mesopore volume of the mesoporous carbon obtained were also enhanced. Moreover, when used as electrodes, this ordered mesoporous carbon was able to significantly increase the capacity of electric double-layer capacitors. Thus, the current study proposes a novel method for regulating the structure and distribution of ordered mesoporous carbons.

Advancing mesoporous carbon synthesis for supercapacitors: a systematic investigation of cross-linking agent effects on pore structure and functionality.

Soft-templating synthesis provides an effective route to prepare ordered mesoporous carbons (MCs) that can be used for supercapacitors. During this process, the cross-linking of carbon precursors is critical to obtain tailored pore structural MCs, thus careful selection of appropriate cross-linking agents is required. Despite the shift from the prevailing cross-linker formaldehyde to its more environmentally friendly alternatives, detailed understanding on the influence of different cross-linking agents on templating synthesis is still lacking. Therefore, it remains challenging to draw a conclusion regarding which cross-linker can effectively enable an ideal cross-linking and a robust templating synthesis of ordered MCs. This work presents a systematic study, by comparing three typical cross-linkers (formaldehyde, glyoxal, and glyoxylic acid), on the pore architecture, surface functionality, and electrochemical performance of resulting MCs. Both the type of cross-linker and its ratio with precursor monomer were found to be crucial for the pore architecture and electrochemical performance of resulting MCs. Glyoxal showed to be a promising cross-linker for easily generating ordered mesopores between 3.3-6.1 nm when the molar ratio between cross-linker and carbon precursor ranged from 1 to 2, whereas glyoxylic acid and formaldehyde induced interrupted or disordered mesopores. When the resulting MCs were used as supercapacitor electrodes, those cross-linked with glyoxal also led to overall higher capacitance in both 6 M KOH aqueous and ionic liquid [N2220][NTf2]/acetonitrile electrolytes thanks to the dominance of ordered mesopore channels, especially MC prepared at glyoxal/precursor molar ratio of 1.5. These findings on the effect of cross-linking on templating synthesis can be used to guide the customisation of MCs for supercapacitors and other applications by smartly choosing a suitable cross-linking agent and its ratio with the precursor.

Structure and morphology control of amorphous Mn-doped Fe oxide composite using soft-templates for efficient Sb(V) removal in textile wastewater: Mechanism of solid-liquid interface regulation and Sb(V) adsorption

To achieve high removal rate and efficacy of Sb(V) from textile wastewater and simultaneously realize cyclic Sb(V) recovery, the structure and surface property of amorphous Mn-doped Fe oxide composite (MFOC) were regulated via the combination of facile soft-template synthesis and sintering treatment. Characterization and adsorption results indicated MFOC structure was greatly changed from aggregated large sphere to dispersive small sphere after adjusted by the optimal Brij-58 (SMFO-B). Because of the generated fasciculate micelle, long carbon chain feature and the lowest residual amount of Brij-58, abundant mesopores were generated and the aggregation of unit particles was apparently decreased for SMFO-B. Surface area and total pore volume of SMFO-B became 10 and 6 times of MFOC and more functional hydroxyl groups were generated and exposed on the interface between SMFO-B and water solution. Additionally, the surface positive potential of SMFO-B under neutral condition was also greatly increased. Thus, the maximum adsorption capacity and rate of SMFO-B towards Sb(V) reached to 147 mg/g and 0.1067 mg/(g·min), 2 and 5 times of MFOC. SMFO-B also possessed better selective adsorption ability, exhibited stronger static and dynamic adsorption performance in real textile wastewater and realized the cyclic desorption and enrichment of Sb(V) due to its better phase stability. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed two main specific forms, such as bidentate edge-(E2) and corner-sharing (C2) complexes, for the inner-sphere complexation during Sb(V) adsorption and E2 complex was proved to play the most important role through the analysis of CD-MUSIC model. This study supplied an excellent adsorbent for Sb(V) removal from textile wastewater and a deeper insight about Sb(V) adsorption onto amorphous Fe oxide.

(Invited) Self-Assembly Synthesis and Interfacial Control of Electrode Architectures

Enhancement in electrochemical energy storage resides in tailored nanotextures resulting from making electrode materials with controlled compositions and structures. The complex interplay of solvent and solute structures and dynamics at charged interfaces, the transport of electrolyte ions into and out of pores, solvation/desolvation processes occurring in pores approaching bare-ion dimensions, and formation of interfaces via chemical reactions are all important parameters. Herein, several self-assembly synthesis methods for carbon and oxide composites as electrode materials for energy storage will be discussed. The objective of this talk is to demonstrate that nanostructured carbons and oxides derived from soft-template synthesis not only entail a high storage capacity but also, most importantly, can be made to have a significantly enhanced electronic & ionic conductivities and storage capacities. These enhanced transport properties in electrode architectures are the key to providing a high-rate capability for the corresponding energy storage systems.

Preparation of rod-like CuSbS2 particles by soft-template synthesis and electrochemical performance toward lithium storage

Preparation of rod-like CuSbS2 particles by soft-template synthesis and electrochemical performance toward lithium storage

Role of crystal nucleation and growth conditions on the soft-templated preparation of HKUST-1 MOFs with hierarchical porosity involving gemini surfactants

Utilization of porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) will get enhanced if a connectivity between the micro- and meso-pore structures within such solids can be achieved. Soft-templated synthesis has been a widely used method where surfactant based molecular self-assemblies act as templates to introduce mesopores in the intrinsically microporous MOFs and thereby generate hierarchical porosity (HP). In this work, we present our investigations on the formation of HP HKUST-1 MOFs by using two gemini surfactants, G16 and G14 as soft-templates. Crystal nucleation and growth conditions in the soft-templated synthesis play a significant role in the success of HP formation. Here, we have employed variations in the composition of water:ethanol (W:E) solvent mixtures mainly to understand and to arrive at the favourable templation conditions. Depending on the relative ratio of the W:E compositions and the gemini surfactants, we have employed additional parameters such as temperature, reaction time and reactant compositions that crucially influence the nucleation and growth factors to achieve HP. Gas sorption, DLS, zeta potential, thermogravimetry, SEM and TEM investigations indicate the formation of unique types of HP structures including the ones which have formed via bilayer and vesicular based soft-templation mechanism in our samples. Presence of the mesopores in our HP samples have been demonstrated by correlating the higher values of both the hierarchy factor (HF) and dye-sorption with a bulky Rhodamine molecule. A direct relation found between the HF values and the dye-uptake in our HP samples indicate that HF can be used as a quantitative marker of HP.

Morphology effects on electrocatalysis of anodic water splitting on nickel (II) oxide

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for producing high purity hydrogen and oxygen via electrocatalytic water splitting. In this work, single crystalline, nanoporous nickel oxide (NiO) was prepared using a hydrothermal, soft-templated synthesis route followed by calcination at different temperatures. It is shown that the NiO crystals have a cubic lattice, and the pore size can be tuned from ∼1 to ∼70 nm by varying the calcination temperature, i.e. variation from micro to macroporosity. The NiO's catalytic performance as electrocatalysts was evaluated in OER, both thermodynamically and kinetically. Mesoporous NiO with calcination temperature of 400 °C had the lowest overpotential (335 mV) required @ 10 mA/cm2 accompanied with the highest turnover frequency value and mass activity among of the obtained NiO electrocatalysts. The study shows that the electrocatalytic activity of nanoporous NiO outperforms that of commercial catalyst Ir/C (∼360 mV @ 10 mA/cm2). Microporous NiO possess the highest specific surface area and electrical double layer capacitance, while the nonporous NiO particles have the highest specific activity and BET activity of the catalysts. It is concluded that the minimization of voltage losses by the nanoscale enlargement of the electrocatalyst surface area shows the coherence between gas adsorption and electrocapacitive measurements. Conversely, the OER kinetics showed deterioration with surface area maximization due to the impediment of ionic transport inside the micropores. This work demonstrates the importance of morphology optimization to obtain an efficient OER electrocatalyst with low required overpotential and kinetic loss.

Mesoporosity and nitrogen doping: The leading effect in oxygen reduction reaction activity and selectivity at nitrogen‐doped carbons prepared by using polyethylene oxide‐block‐polystyrene as a sacrificial template

AbstractFour mesoporous carbons (MCs) with tunable pore size were synthesized by soft template synthesis, employing a resorcinol‐formaldehyde resin as a carbon precursor and a polyethylene oxide‐block‐polystyrene block copolymer as a sacrificial template in which the length of the polystyrene block (165, 300, 500, and 1150 units) allowed the modulation of the surface area of MCs (567, 582, 718 and 840 m2 g−1, respectively). The complete set of MCs was also doped with nitrogen by ball milling in the presence of cyanamide and stabilized in a second thermal treatment at 750°C, leading to nitrogen content of ∼2.65% in all samples. The two sets of MCs were used for evaluating both the effect of textural properties and nitrogen doping in the electrochemical reduction of oxygen in acid electrolytes. Each catalyst was characterized by means of elemental analysis and N2 physisorption analysis, whereas the selected series of samples were also characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP‐MS), and Raman analysis. Voltammetric rotating ring‐disk measurements in 0.5 M H2SO4 demonstrated that the catalytic activity for the O2 reduction scales with the surface area in the non‐doped series, and also the selectivity for the two‐electron process leading to H2O2 increases in the samples having wider pores and higher surface area, even if the leading mechanism is the tetraelectronic process leading to H2O. The doping with nitrogen leads to a general increase of the catalytic activity with a shift of the O2 peak potential to more positive values of 75–150 mV. In the doped series, nitrogen doping prevails on the textural properties for guiding the selectivity toward the two‐ or four‐electron process, since a similar H2O2 yield was observed for all N‐MC samples. The possible presence of FeNx sites derived from the ball milling fixation of nitrogen was evaluated by using the NO‐stripping technique.

Ionic liquid-assisted synthesis of mesoporous polymers and carbon materials: the self-assembly mechanism.

Soft-templating synthesis has been widely employed to fabricate ordered mesoporous polymer and carbon materials with effectively tuneable pore sizes. However, the commonly used templating agents, block copolymers, are normally decomposed during the process, thus are barely recyclable; this increases the costs and hampers the scale-up feasibility. Therefore, it becomes imperative to seek promising alternatives; amphiphilic ionic liquids (ILs) are excellent candidates due to their good recyclability. This study explored the templating behaviour of IL templates for preparing mesoporous polymers and carbons. In details, the self-assembly of ternary systems (comprising of IL templates, precursors and solvent) were investigated by a combination of coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations, density function theory (DFT) calculations and experimental techniques. The results indicate that the morphologies of IL templates are tuneable not only by the adjustment of water content in the mixture but also by the selection of suitable precursors. Material precursors containing increasing numbers of hydroxyl moieties also induce various precursor-template spatial correlations, resulting in different topological structures of nanomaterials. This work presents a fundamental investigation into the mechanisms of templating synthesis with amphiphilic ILs as recyclable templates and gives insight into the effective design of coveted carbon nanomaterials for targeted applications.

Solvent-Free Soft-Template Synthesis of Highly-Ordered Mesoporous Carbons Via Self-Assembly Promoted by Mg(No3)2 and Their Electric Double-Layer Capacitance Property

Solvent-Free Soft-Template Synthesis of Highly-Ordered Mesoporous Carbons Via Self-Assembly Promoted by Mg(No3)2 and Their Electric Double-Layer Capacitance Property

Co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques toward mesoporous nanosphere engineering: A review

Mesoporous nanospheres are of great importance in the cutting-edge fields of energy, catalysis and sensor technology, mainly because of their multilevel architectures, tunable meso-structures, specific compositions and soft-templated synthesis approaches. In this review, the control mechanisms of aqueous polymer self-assembly are first elaborated based on the correlated driving forces, methods, and initial conditions. Then, recent advances of co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques toward mesoporous nanosphere engineering using amphiphilic block copolymers and low-molecular-weight surfactants as soft templates are systematically reviewed. Here, soft templates and organic or inorganic precursor species as well as their co-assembly processes and formation mechanisms are elaborated to thoroughly understand co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques. After soft template removal through high-temperature pyrolysis or solvent extraction, mesoporous nanospheres can be obtained. Generally, this review presents insights and a guideline to co-assembly-driven engineering of mesoporous nanospheres and promotes the development of this emerging interdisciplinary research field at the frontier between organic polymer co-assembly and inorganic nanomaterial fabrication. Co-assembly-driven nanocomposite formation techniques show great potential in manufacturing mesoporous nanospheres with multilevel architectures, in which the controllable soft template self-assemblies, precursor species and their nanocomposite formation techniques enable mesoporous nanospheres with tunable meso-structures and compositions, soft-templated synthesis approaches and functional applications. • A systematic summary of soft template-directed co-assembly techniques. • In-depth analysis on mesoporous nanospheres with controllable meso-structures. • Perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of mesoporous nanospheres.

Determination of six parabens in biological samples by magnetic solid-phase extraction with magnetic mesoporous carbon adsorbent and UHPLC-MS/MS

Although parabens are useful due to their antiseptic properties, their widespread use has caused concerns regarding their potential toxicological effects. In this study, a novel magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MSPE-UHPLC-MS/MS) was developed, based on ordered magnetic mesoporous carbon (MMC), for paraben analysis. The MMC was prepared by soft-template synthesis, with a unique pore structure and a highly specific surface response, indicating potential as an excellent adsorbent. Several parameters affecting the paraben extraction efficiency were investigated and a novel method for paraben analysis in serum and urine samples using MSPE-UHPLCMS/MS was developed. The concentrations of methylparaben, ethylparaben, isopropylparaben, and propylparaben in these samples were 0.0380–4.36, 0.460–9.65, 0.0118–0.770, and 0.0363–0.641 μg/L, respectively, whereas isobutylparaben and butylparaben were not detected. Furthermore, satisfactory recoveries of 76.4–121% with relative standard deviations (n = 5) of 1.9–8.6% were obtained. Therefore, the developed MSPE-UHPLC-MS/MS method was efficient, highly sensitive, and reliable for analysing parabens in complex biological samples.

Tailoring Mesoporous Titania Features by Ultrasound-Assisted Sol-Gel Technique: Effect of Surfactant/Titania Precursor Weight Ratio.

A mesoporous titania structure has been prepared using the ultrasound-assisted sol-gel technique in order to find out a way to tailor its structure. The TiO2 obtained was compared to the same version of titania but synthesized by a conventional sol-gel method with the objective of understanding the effect of ultrasound in the synthesis process. All synthesis experiments were focused on the preparation of a titania photocatalyst. Thus, the anatase photocatalytic active phase of titania was proven by X-ray diffraction. Additionally, the ultrasonation treatment proved to increase the crystallinity of titania samples, being one of the requirements to having good photocatalytic activity for titania. The influence of surfactant/titania precursor weight ratio on the structural (XRD), textural (N2-sorption measurements), morphological (TEM), surface chemistry (FTIR) and optical properties (UVDR) was investigated. It was observed that the crystallite size, specific surface area, band gap energy and even photocatalytic activity was affected by the synergism occurring between cavitation effect and the surfactant/titania precursor weight ratio. The study yielded interesting great results that could be considered for further application of ultrasound to tailor mesoporous titania features via sol-gel soft template synthesis, against conventional sol-gel process.

Key design considerations for synthesis of mesoporous α-Li3V2(PO4)3/C for high power lithium batteries

In this article, we propose key design criteria to synthesis carbon coated α-Li3V2(PO4)3 positive electrode material for high power lithium batteries. A facile and scalable one-pot soft template method is adopted to synthesize α-Li3V2(PO4)3/C (LVP/C), which exhibits unique morphology of micron-size mesoporous secondary particles comprising interconnected primary nanoparticles showing good storage and rate performances with long cycle life. This cathode material displays high discharge capacities of 178, 90 and 59 mAh.g−1 at 0.1C, 30C and 80C, respectively. The mesoporous LVP/C with a 3D lithium diffusion network exhibits better rate performance (90 mAh.g−1 at 30C) as compared to the known phosphate, silicate or oxide cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In addition, LVP/C electrode material retains 80% (at 1C) and 100% (at 20C) of its initial capacity after 1,000 cycles. The phase transitions during delitiation/litiation are discussed at different cutoff voltages, corresponding to the number of moles of lithium involved in the redox reactions. The reversibility of electrochemical extraction/insertion processes are confirmed using operando XRD measurements. Observed storage performances can be attributed not only to high crystallinity of LVP/C calcined at 800°C for 6 h; also to the unique mesoporous architecture of this carbon coated cathode material forming high packing density during the soft template synthesis. Obtained dense packed mesoporous architecture of LVP/C allows favourable (i) electrolyte wettability for lithium-incorporation from the electrolyte and (ii) long electronic wiring by the well-connected carbon coating towards the current collector.