Sucrose-assisted rapid synthesis of multifunctional CrVO4 nanoparticles: a new high-performance cathode material for lithium ion batteries

The search of new multifunctional cathode materials, with new crystal structures and compositions, for lithium ion battery is extremely important to mitigate the drawbacks associated with the current electrode materials used in rechargeable lithium ion batteries. In this paper, orthovanadate family CrVO4 has been identified and investigated as a new cathode material for high-rate and high-capacity lithium ion battery for the first time. A solution-based effective and versatile synthetic protocol has been proposed to synthesize CrVO4 nanoparticles. Physical characterizations reveal that the prepared CrVO4 consists of uniform and discreet nanoparticles of crystallite size ~ 19 nm with widespread pore diameter, enhanced conductivity and surface area. The prepared CrVO4 nanoparticles have been evaluated as a potential cathode material for lithium ion batteries, wherein the experimental results demonstrate enhanced lithium storage with high rate-capability and cyclability. The experimental results reveal that the proposed CrVO4 is working through a partial conversion reaction mechanism.