Facile and Scalable Synthesis of Zn3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O Microflowers as a High-Performance Anode for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The employment of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies has been widely acknowledged as an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, how to produce nanomaterials effectively on a large scale remains a challenge. Here, the highly crystallized Zn3V2O7(OH)2·2H2O is synthesized through a simple liquid phase method at room temperature in a large scale, which is easily realized in industry. Through suppressing the reaction dynamics with ethylene glycol, a uniform morphology of microflowers is obtained. Owing to the multiple reaction mechanisms (insertion, conversion, and alloying) during Li insertion/extraction, the prepared electrode delivers a remarkable specific capacity of 1287 mA h g–1 at 0.2 A g–1 after 120 cycles. In addition, a high capacity of 298 mA h g–1 can be obtained at 5 A g–1 after 1400 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the high crystallinity and large specific surface area of active materials. The sm...