| Summary: | Water molecules and cations with mono, binary, and triple valences have been intercalated into V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> to significantly improve its electrochemical properties as a cathode material of zinc-ion batteries. Sn as a tetravalent element is supposed to interact aggressively with the V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> layer and have a significant impact on the electrochemical performance of V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>. However, it has been rarely investigated as a pre-intercalated ion in previous works. Hence, it is intriguing and beneficial to develop water molecules and Sn co-doped V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> for zinc-ion batteries. Herein, Sn-doped hydrated V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> nanosheets were prepared by a one-step hydrothermal synthesis, and they demonstrated that they had a high specific capacity of 374 mAh/g at 100 mA/g. Meanwhile, they also showed an exceptional rate capability with 301 mAh/g even at a large current density of 10 A/g, while it was only 40 mAh/g for the pristine hydrated V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>, and an excellent cycling life (87.2% after 2500 cycles at 5 A/g), which was far more than the 25% of the pure hydrated V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>. The dramatic improvement of the rate and cycling performance is mainly attributed to the faster charge transfer kinetics and the enhanced crystalline framework. The remarkable electrochemical performance makes the Sn-doped hydrate V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> a potential cathode material for zinc-ion batteries.
|
|---|