Hydrothermal synthesis and electrochemical characterization of VO2 (B) with controlled crystal structures

Three different VO2 (B) nanostructures, including urchin-like VO2 (B), VO2 (B) honeycombs and VO2 (B) nanorods have been successfully fabricated through hydrothermal process by adjusting the concentrations of the oxalic acid. The microstructure and morphology of the VO2 nanostructures were evaluated by using X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Electrochemical properties measurements of urchin-like VO2 (B) and VO2 (B) honeycombs showed excellent cycling performance, especially the urchin-like VO2 (B) exhibited higher discharge capacity and better capacity retention.

Research highlights▶ The ammonium metavanadate and oxalic acid as the experimental material has never been reported to the best of our knowledge. ▶ We successfully fabricated the novel urchin-like VO2 (B). ▶ We compared and analysed the electrochemical behaviors of three different morphologies of the VO2 (B).