Characterization of silver vanadium oxide cathode material by high-resolution electron microscopy

The nature of the discharge reaction of lithium/silver vanadium oxide batteries was investigated. The lithiation of silver vanadium oxide, which has the formula Ag2−yV4O11, proceeds by a multistep reaction, as indicated by the open-circuit voltage curve. The first step in the discharge reaction involves reduction of silver and separation of the oxide into two phases of differing composition. Electron diffraction of lithiated materials of various compositions suggests that the layered structure of the oxide is maintained, but with an increased amount of stacking disorder. High-resolution electron micrographs of lithiated Ag2−yV4O11 at atomic resolution could not be obtained because of sample decomposition in the electron beam.