In this work, we developed a facile synthesis method for making submicron Li1+xV3O8 fibers by using an ethanol/water solution-mediated solvothermal route in the absence of any surfactants. All starting materials involved are commercially available, relatively inexpensive, and low-toxic, and these were handled in an ambient atmosphere, thereby rendering this synthetic route as both reasonably facile and efficient. A post-annealing treatment at 500°C was introduced to increase both sample crystallinity and purity. The fiber sample with a monoclinic phase was probed in detail using a series of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) measurements. Both morphology and chemical composition were carefully and systematically tuned to generate a class of novel, pure, and well-defined motifs of Li1+xV3O8. A plausible mechanism for the formation of submicron-diameter fibers has been discussed in addition to the expected phase transformation within our Li-V-O materials, involving both “crystal-splitting” and “Ostwald ripening” processes. Our comprehensive study should provide for needed fundamental insights into putting forth a viable synthesis strategy for the generation of well-defined morphological variants of layered oxide materials for battery applications.

Synthesis, structural characterization, and growth mechanism of Li1+xV3O8 submicron fibers for lithium-ion batteries

256th National Meeting (2018)

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