Synthesis and electroactivity of hydrated and monoclinic rutile-type nanosized VO2

Following recent works leading to the preparation of nanosized VO2·H2O and monoclinic rutile-type VO2(M), we used a similar method to evaluate the electrochemical properties vs. lithium of such divided materials. Thus, we were able to control the morphologies of the pink VO2·H2O particles through a control of the temperature used during the hydrothermal treatment. Moreover, a careful treatment of these phases led to the formation of rutile-like VO2(M) with “dandelion” morphology. While previously reported inactive as bulk material, this phase reversibly reacts with lithium with a stable capacity of 120 mA h/g for a sample prepared at 340 °C. Furthermore, the study of the hydrate shows an influence of the morphology on the electrochemical properties. This work thus clearly underlines the influence of texture on the lithium insertion properties capabilities.