Facile Synthesis of Flock-Like V2O3/C with Improved Electrochemical Performance as an Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries

V2O3 is considered to be a potential anode material due to its large specific capacity and rich resources. Herein, flock-like V2O3 coated with carbon is prepared through a facile and simple solvothermal method followed by annealing at a relatively low temperature. The structure of V2O3/C is composed of porous strips. Due to the unique morphology and structure, the V2O3/C anode material shows excellent electrochemical performance. It delivers a specific discharge capacity of 696 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles, which is 95% of the specific discharge capacity (732 mAh g(-1)) after the sixth cycle. The V2O3/C anode material annealed at 360 degrees C (V2O3/C-360) delivers 601 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 300 mA g(-1) after 500 cycles. It implies superior cyclic stability of V2O3/C-360. In addition, the anode also shows excellent rate capability. Specific capacities of approximately 600, 420, and 300 mAh g(-1) are obtained at the current densities of 0.3, 2, and 5 A g(-1), respectively. The large current contribution of the capacitive reveals favorable superior lithium storage kinetics. This anode material presents great application potential in high-performance lithium-ion batteries.