Low-temperature sol–gel synthesis of Li1.2V3O8 from V2O5 gel

A new low-temperature synthesis route of Li1.2V3O8 for use as cathode active material in lithium secondary batteries from V2O5 gel is proposed. Reacting V2O5 gel with stoichiometrical LiOH·H2O under mild stirring forms Li1.2V3O8 gel. By heating Li1.2V3O8 gel at various temperatures in air, Li1.2V3O8 with different degrees of crystallinity have been obtained. TEM, TG–DTA and XRD experiments were carried out for physical characterization and the galvanostatic charge–discharge experiments for checking their electrochemical performance. The low-temperature sol–gel products have lower crystallinity and higher specific capacity than those synthesized by high temperature solid-state method.