Synthesis and electrochemical properties of InVO₄nanotube arrays

Abstract

This paper reports an experimental study on the synthesis and electrochemical properties of InVO 4 nanotube arrays fabricated by capillary-enforced sol-filling in templates in combination with solvent-evaporation induced deposition. InVO 4 sol was synthesized using the sol-gel route from vanadium oxoisopropoxide and indium nitrate with ethanol as the solvent. Nanotube arrays of InVO 4 were prepared by filling the sol into pores of polycarbonate membranes and pyrolyzing through sintering. Another type of InVO 4 nanotube array (InVO 4 -acac) was obtained from the sol with the addition of acetyl acetone (acac). For comparison purposes, InVO 4 films were prepared by drop casting from the same InVO 4 sol. Films and the two types of nanotube array of InVO 4 annealed at 500 uC consisted of mixed monoclinic (InVO 4 -I) and orthorhombic (InVO 4 -III) phases. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization indicated that the nanotubes were aligned perpendicular to the substrate surface with an outer diameter of y200 nm for short InVO 4 nanotubes and y170 nm for long InVO 4 -acac nanotubes. Chronopotentiometry results revealed that the InVO 4 -acac nanotube array has the highest charge capacity (790 mAh g 21 ),followed by the InVO 4 nanotube array (600 mAh g 21) then the InVO 4 film (290 mAh g 21 ). Such enhanced lithium-ion intercalation properties were ascribed to the large surface area and short diffusion distance offered by nanostructures and amorphisation caused by acetyl acetone in the case of InVO 4 -acac nanotube arrays.

Characterization of nano-InVO4 powders synthesized by the hydrothermal process on various In/V molar ratio and soaking conditions

“…(2) previously and act as nucleation and growth sites. When the NH 4 VO 3 powders were incorporated into the solution and brought about the transformation of VO 3 3− into VO 4 3− under a controlled pH value of solution, In(OH) 3 began to react with VO 4 3− and yielded InVO 4 particles. Since the pH value of the precursor solution in this study was controlled at 6.0 by adjusting of NaOH addition, the molar ratio of In/V became the dominant factor deciding what kind of resulting phases will be obtained after the hydrothermal reaction.…”

“…Orthorhombic InVO 4 has received considerable attention due to its special photocatalytic and electrochemical properties, such as evolved H 2 from hydrolysis of water molecules as a clean energy source [1,2], anode material of Li-ion rechargeable battery due to its high intercalation capacity [3,4], counter electrode of electrochromic device [5] and gas sensor of ethanol [6]. The complex phase transformation and crystalline structure of InVO 4 have been reported by Touboul and co-workers [7][8][9] and Roncaglia et al [10].…”

Oriented Nanostructures for Energy Conversion and Storage

“…For example, Cao and co-workers synthesized and characterized various one dimensional nanostructured electrodes of orthorhombic V 2 O 5 and low-crystalline V 2 O 5 ·n H 2 O, including single-crystal V 2 O 5 nanorod arrays, [196][197][198] V 2 O 5 ·n H 2 O, InVO 4 , and TiO 2 nanotube arrays, [197,199,200] and Ni-V 2 O 5 ·n H 2 O core-shell nanocable arrays. [201] The fabrication of such nanostructures was accomplished using template-based growth by sol electrophoretic deposition [202][203][204][205][206][207][208] and electrochemical deposition.…”

Synthesis of Inorganic Nanotubes

“…[172] The solution-liquid-solid (SLS) method has been exploited to obtain tin-filled In(OH) 3 nanotubes using liquid droplets of an In-Sn mixture. [173] Nanotubes and how they are formed of other complex oxides reported are: In 2 Ge 2 O 7 by thermal evaporation, [174] InVO 4 nanotubes using templates, [175] WO 3 ÀH 2 O nanotubes with the aid of intercalated polyaniline, [176] chrysotile nanotubes by the hydrothermal method, [177] aluminogermanate nanotubes by a simple solution procedure, [178] a-FeOOH nanotubes by employing reverse micelles, [179] boehmite nanotubes by a hydrothermal procedure, [180] and hydroxyapatite nanotubes by a sol-gel procedure in an AM. [181] La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 nanotubes have been prepared using an AM template by the sol-gel method, [182] while ZnAl 2 O 4 spinel nanotubes have been obtained by making use of the Kirkendall effect.…”