Superior cathode of sodium-ion batteries: orthorhombic V₂O₅ nanoparticles generated in nanoporous carbon by ambient hydrolysis deposition.

For the first time, we demonstrate that orthorhombic V2O5 can exhibit superior electrochemical performance in sodium ion batteries when uniformly coated inside nanoporous carbon. The encapsulated V2O5 shows a specific capacity as high as 276 mAh/g, while the whole nanocomposite exhibits a capacity of 170 mAh/g. The V2O5/C composite was fabricated by a novel ambient hydrolysis deposition that features sequential water vapor adsorption in nanoporous carbon, followed by a hydrolysis reaction, exclusively inside the nanopores. The unique structure of the nanocomposite significantly enhances the capacity as well as the rate performance of orthorhombic V2O5 where the composite retains a capacity of over 90 mAh/g at a current rate of 640 mA/g. Furthermore, by calculating, we also revealed that a large portion of the sodium-ion storage, particularly at high current rates, is due to the V2O5 pseudocapacitance.