A study on the properties of hexagonal Zn3(OH)2V2O7·2H2O as cathode material for zinc-ion battery

Zn3(OH)2V2O7·2H2O possesses good structural stability because of its particular pattern. It is often used as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries and photocatalytic material but is rarely practiced for zinc-ion batteries. This paper synthesized Zn3(OH)2V2O7·2H2O by a hydrothermal method and applied it as cathode material for zinc-ion batteries. Synthesis experiments and electrochemical performance tests were carried out to optimize the best zinc source, synthesis temperature, and time. According to the analysis results, the cathode material with Zn(NO3) 2·6H2O as the zinc source, synthesis temperature of 160 ℃, and synthesis time of 6 h has the best electrochemical performance. Physical characterization was carried out through XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, TEM, and FT-IR to study the microstructure and element composition of the material. The analysis of the characterization results shows that the synthesized material is hexagonal and the composition is highly consistent with the standard Zn3V2O7(OH)2·H2O material.