Synergistic Effect of Core-Shell Heterogeneous V2O5@MV6O15 (M = Na, K) Nanoparticles for Enhanced Lithium Storage Performance

•V2O5@MV6O15 (M = Na, K) NPs are successfully constructed through a facile “semi-solid” synthetic method.•The V2O5@MV6O15 NPs show much enhanced electrochemical performance as compared to V2O5.•The enhanced performances are attributed to the synergistic effects from the outer MV6O15 layers.•The synergistic effects are confirmed by the in-situ XRD testing results.

Synergistic effects of heterostructures can improve electrochemical properties of electrode materials. Herein, core-shell heterogeneous structures of V2O5@MV6O15 (M = Na, K) nanoparticles were designed and successfully synthesized through a facile “semi-solid” method. V2O5@NaV6O15 nanoparticles showed a high discharge capacity of 140 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 which retained 94.9% after 200 cycles, higher than those of V2O5 nanoparticles (116.1 mAh g−1 and 58%). Moreover, through an advanced in-situ XRD technology, the synergistic effect of buffering and smoothing Li+ diffusion from MV6O15 outer layer was revealed. This facile strategy could be widely applied to improve the electrochemical performances of other electrode materials.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (123KB)Download full-size image