Multilayered Vanadium Carbide-Reduced Graphene Oxide (VC@rGO) Nanocomposite as an Ultrahigh-Capacity Anode Material for Li- and Na-Ion Batteries

Recently, 2D materials have been reported as alternative anodic materials for alkali-ion batteries due to their excellent conductivity and stability. 2D transition-metal carbide materials, such as vanadium carbide (VC), have attained significant attention as high-performance anodic materials. Herein, we have demonstrated the facile synthesis of a multilayered VC@rGO nanocomposite material (rGO, reduced graphene oxide), which follows the metal-carbon bonding during high-temperature carburization. The structural study of the hydrothermal product (intermediate) by X-ray diffraction shows the existence of tetragonal VO2 and carbon in graphite and GO forms. After carburization, the final product shows the complete formation of cubic VC nanosheets along with rGO. The morphological study clearly shows layers of VC sheets sandwiched with rGO. Further, the formation of VC@rGO is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Physicochemical characterizations indicate the successful formation of the multilayered VC@rGO nanocomposite. This nanocomposite is utilized as an anode in both lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs). The electrochemical study of the multilayered VC@rGO nanocomposite shows a superior specific capacity of 523 mA h g–1 at 1C and exhibits decent capacity retention for 500 cycles with almost 100% Coulombic efficiency for LIBs. When utilized for SIBs, it shows 128 mA h g–1 @ current density of 200 mA g–1 for 100 cycles. Therefore, the proposed material has the potential and capability in terms of specific capacity, long-term cyclic stability, and rate performance to be utilized as an anodic material in alkali-ion batteries.