Direct synthesis of nanostructured V2O5 films using solution plasma spray approach for lithium battery applications

We demonstrate for the first time, the synthesis of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanoparticles and nanorods in the films using a high throughput solution plasma spray deposition approach. The scalable plasma spray method enables the direct deposition of large area nanostructured films of V2O5 with controllable particle size and morphology. In this approach, the solution precursors (vanadium oxychloride and ammonium metavanadate) were injected externally into the plasma jet, which atomizes and pyrolyzes the precursors in-flight, resulting in the desired films on the current collectors. The microstructure analysis of the as synthesized films revealed pure nanocrystalline phase for V2O5 with particles in the size range of 20–50 nm. The V2O5 film based electrodes showed stable reversible discharge capacity in the range of 200–250 mAh g−1 when cycled in the voltage window 2–4 V. We further discuss the mechanism for controlling the particle growth and morphology, and also the optimization of reversible lithium storage capacity. The nanorods of V2O5 formed after the anneal treatment also show reversible storage capacity indicative of the potential use of such film based electrodes for energy storage.

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► Direct deposition of V2O5 films on current collector for electrode characterization.
► As-deposited V2O5 films consist of very fine (20–50 nm) nanoparticles (NPs).
► Following the anneal treatment in air V2O5 NPs transform into V2O5 nanorods.
► Monolithic and large area V2O5 films at high throughput for Li ion batteries.
► Our approach overcomes powder handling and slurry preparation processes.