Fabrication of Nb₂ O₅ /Carbon Submicrostructures for Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Nb₂ O₅ possesses superior fast Li⁺ storage capability for LIB anodes, benefiting from its fast pseudocapacitive behavior and low volumetric change within the cycling processes. However, the poor electric conductivity for Nb₂ O₅ restricts its reaction kinetics and rate property. Herein, Nb₂ O₅ /carbon (C) submicrostructures are fabricated by solvothermal method followed by calcination process. The Nb₂ O₅ /C submicrostructures exhibit outstanding rate behavior and cyclic performance (332 (194) mAh g^-1 after 1000 cycles at 1 (5) A g^-1 ). The superior electrochemical property is attributed to the distinctive structure for Nb₂ O₅ /C submicrostructures, in which Nb₂ O₅ nanoparticles uniformly distributed within Nb₂ O₅ /C composite can protect Nb₂ O₅ nanoparticles from agglomeration, and the porous carbon matrix can enhance electron/ion conductivity. This work furnishes a novel strategy for fabricating Nb₂ O₅ /C submicrostructures with superior Li⁺ storage performance, which can be potentially used to design other metal oxide/C submicrostructures for second battery anode.