In situ Synthesis of V2O3-Intercalated N-doped Graphene Nanobelts from VOx-Amine Hybrid as High-Performance Anode Material for Alkali-Ion Batteries

Graphical In situ carbonization : V 2 O 3 -intercalated N-doped graphene (NG) nanobelts are synthesized by one-step controlled pyrolysis of inorganic-organic hybrid VO x /3-phenylpropylamine nanobelts under Ar and the obtained V 2 O 3 /NG nanobelts possess well-defined 0D-in-1D morphology and excellent electrochemical performance as anodes for alkali-ion batteries. V 2 O 3 is a promising anode material for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and natural abundance. However, the low conductivity, sluggish ion reaction kinetics, and large volume change limit the rate and cycling stability in batteries. In this work, the V 2 O 3 -nanoparticles-intercalated N-doped graphene (V 2 O 3 /NG) hybrid is prepared by one-step controlled pyrolysis of inorganic-organic hybrid VO x /3-phenylpropylamine nanobelts under Ar. The intercalated 3-phenylpropylamine molecules are carbonized in situ into the NG layers and the sandwiched VO x layers are converted into 10–20 nm V 2 O 3 nanoparticles. The V 2 O 3 /NG nanobelts possess well-defined 0D-in-1D morphology and excellent electrochemical performance such as high reversible capacities of 435 mAh g −1 at 100 mA g −1 over 250 cycles for Li-ion storage and 154 mAh g −1 at 500 mA g −1 over 500 cycles for Na-ion storage. The well-defined 0D-in-1D hybrid V 2 O 3 /NG structure with small V 2 O 3 nanoparticles, interconnected nanochannels, and conductive NG layers offer abundant electrochemical active sites leading to fast Li + and electron transport and excellent alkali-ion storage.