Electrochemical behavior of submicron Li2MoO3 as anodes in lithium-ion batteries

Theoretically, Li2MoO3 can serve as cathodes as well as anodes in lithium-ion batteries because Mo element in the compound is at the intermediate valence state. However, to date, little work has been devoted to the study of Li2MoO3 as anodes in lithium-ion batteries. In the paper, submicron Li2MoO3 is synthesized via simple liquid chemical reaction, followed by thermal reduction in H2/Ar (5:95 v/v) atmosphere. The as-prepared Li2MoO3 is polycrystalline with layered structure. At a current density of 100 mA g−1 over a voltage window of 0-3.0 V, the compound delivers a first discharge capacity of 836 mAh g−1 with a high initial coulombic efficiency of 94.5%. After 200 cycles at a current density of 300 mA g−1 over a voltage window of 0-3.0 V, a discharge capacity of 654 mAh g−1 is preserved. At a high current density of 1600 mA g−1, the composite still keeps a discharge capacity of 489 mAh g−1. The high first charge-discharge efficiency is ascribed to its self-compensation ability of Li2MoO3 for the first irreversible capacity loss.