High Rate, Long Lifespan LiV₃ O₈ Nanorods as a Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

LiV₃ O₈ nanorods with controlled size are successfully synthesized using a nonionic triblock surfactant Pluronic-F127 as the structure directing agent. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques are used to characterize the samples. It is observed that the nanorods with a length of 4-8 µm and diameter of 0.5-1.0 µm distribute uniformly. The resultant LiV₃ O₈ nanorods show much better performance as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries than normal LiV₃ O₈ nanoparticles, which is associated with the their unique micro-nano-like structure that can not only facilitate fast lithium ion transport, but also withstand erosion from electrolytes. The high discharge capacity (292.0 mAh g^-1 at 100 mA g^-1 ), high rate capability (138.4 mAh g^-1 at 6.4 A g^-1 ), and long lifespan (capacity retention of 80.5% after 500 cycles) suggest the potential use of LiV₃ O₈ nanorods as alternative cathode materials for high-power and long-life lithium ion batteries. In particular, the synthetic strategy may open new routes toward the facile fabrication of nanostructured vanadium-based compounds for energy storage applications.