Liquid Phase Exfoliation of Chemically Prelithiated Bilayered Vanadium Oxide in Aqueous Media for Li-Ion Batteries

Bilayered vanadium oxides are attractive for energy storage due to their high initial specific capacities, which could be stabilized by integrating the bilayers with conductive nanoflakes often produced in a form of aqueous dispersions. Therefore, exfoliation of the bilayered vanadium oxides in water with high yield is desirable. This work introduces the first aqueous exfoliation of chemically prelithiated bilayered vanadium oxide (i.e., (5- LixV2O5 center dot nH2O or LVO) followed by vacuum filtration to produce a free-standing film, exhibiting a lamellar stacking of the bilayered vanadium oxide nanoflakes as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy. Due to the hydrated nature of bilayered vanadium oxides, the relationship between interlayer water content and the vacuum drying temperature (105 degrees C vs 200 degrees C) was studied using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that vacuum drying the LVO nanoflakes at 200 degrees C enabled more efficient removal of crystallographic water than drying at 105 degrees C, and did not induce a phase transformation. Scanning transmission electron microscopy confirmed the layered structure of the samples, which was more well-ordered in the 200 degrees C case and had no clear boundaries between flakes at the atomic scale. Furthermore, electrochemical testing in nonaqueous Li-ion cells revealed that vacuum drying at 200 degrees C led to improvements in ion storage capacity and electrochemical stability. Improvements in electrochemical charge storage properties of the electrodes obtained via LVO exfoliation and free-standing film assembly in water dried at 200 degrees C reveal that conventional battery electrode drying protocols need to be revised as new electrochemically active materials are synthesized, such as hydrated layered oxides with expanded interlayer regions. The remaining capacity fading can be attributed to the structural LVO degradation, dissolution of vanadium oxide in electrolyte, and parasitic effects of the remaining interlayer water molecules. Our results establish an environmentally friendly and safe approach to obtain two-dimensional (2D) bilayered vanadium oxide nanoflakes and create a pathway to constructing novel 2D heterostructures for improved performance in energy storage applications.