Cerium vanadate nanoparticles as a new anode material for lithium ion batteries

Abstract

The most commonly used anode materials for lithium-ion batteries rely on graphite which bears the disadvantage that lithium dendrites may form because of the relatively low Li-insertion potentials. To avoid lithium dendrite formation, the ideal negative electrodes for forthcoming lithium-ion battery applications require a charge/discharge potential of ∼1 V versus Li⁺/Li for safety concerns. Here, we report on the use of the hydrothermally prepared tetragonal CeVO₄ as a new anode material for LIBs. The potentials of reversible lithium insertion for the CeVO₄ anode are about 1.0 and 1.5 V versus Li⁺/Li, and the capacity of the material is 210 mA h g⁻¹ after 50 cycles at a current density of 10 mA g⁻¹. The Li-ion insertion and extraction mechanism of CeVO₄ has been elucidated on the basis of cyclic voltammetry and in situ X-ray diffraction investigations. A two-step reduction of V³⁺ to V²⁺ and V²⁺ to V⁺ is observed for the lithium insertion during the discharge process of the material, whereas the oxidation of V⁺ to V²⁺ and V²⁺ to V³⁺ is found to be fully reversible for the lithium extraction during the charge process.