3D flower-like NC@V2O3 constructed by nanoparticles for lithium-ion batteries

The morphology and structural engineering of V 2 O 3 anode of lithium-ion batteries plays a significant role in improving the energy storage performance since V 2 O 3 material suffers from tremendous volume changes, self-aggregation and intrinsic poor conductivity. In this work, we devise a novel 3D self-supporting N, C doped-V 2 O 3 (NC@V 2 O 3 ) composite, which consist of nanoparticles by adding urea to obtain 3D flower-like V 2 O 3 microspheres precursor during the annealing process. The V 2 O 3 microspheres self-assembled with nanosheets is fabricated by one-step solvothermal route. A possible morphological evolution mechanism of fabrication of granular NC@V 2 O 3 is explored by SEM and TEM. As anode in Li + batteries, NC@V 2 O 3 material exhibits outstanding rate performance of 227 mAh g −1 at the current density of 2 A g −1 and a reversible capacity of 272 mAh g −1 at 0.1 A g −1 after 200 cycles. Such great performance is attributed to granulated NC@V 2 O 3 architecture, which increasing the contact area of electrode-electrolyte and shortening Li + diffusion pathway. In addition, the doped N and C atoms can create more defects, providing electrochemical active sites and electronic conduction. The achievements of this study may provide new insight into design novel architecture of V 2 O 3 anode.