Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Li2O-V2O5-B2O3-Bi2O3 Glass and Glass-Ceramic Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

In this study, 20Li2O-60V2O5-(20 − x)B2O3-xBi2O3 (x = 5, 7.5, 10 mol%) glass materials have been prepared by the melt-quenching method, and the structure and morphology of the glass materials have been characterized by XRD, FTIR, Raman, and FE-SEM. The results show that the disordered network of the glass is mainly composed of structural motifs, such as VO4, BO3, BiO3, and BiO6. The electrochemical properties of the glass cathode material have been investigated by the galvanostatic charge-discharge method and cyclic voltammetry, and the results show that with the increases of Bi2O3 molar content, the amount of the VO4 group increases, and the network structure of the glass becomes more stable. To further enhance the electrochemical properties, glass-ceramic materials have been obtained by heat treatment, and the effect of the heat treatment temperature on the structure and electrochemical properties of the glass has been studied. The results show that the initial discharge capacity of the glass-ceramic cathode obtained by heat treatment at 280 °C at a current density of 50 mA·g−1 is 333.4 mAh·g−1. In addition, after several cycles of charging and discharging at a high current density of 1000 mA·g−1 and then 10 cycles at 50 mA·g−1, its discharge capacity remains at approximately 300 mAh·g−1 with a capacity retention rate of approximately 90.0%. The results indicate that a proper heat treatment temperature is crucial to improving the electrochemical properties of glass materials. This study provides an approach for the development of new glass cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.