Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

Engineering two dimensional (2D) materials at atomic level is a key factor to achieve enhanced electrochemical Li-ion storage properties. This work demonstrates that single crystals of orthorhombic α–MoO3 phase can preferentially grow with a 2D nanoarchitecture via a ball-milling process, followed by heat treatment at elevated temperature. Detailed FE-SEM and TEM micrographs proved the 2D architecture of α–MoO3 nanoparticles and Raman spectroscopy evidenced the active vibration modes that correspond to the orthorhombic α-MoO3 phase. Single crystalline MoO3 belts depicted high intensity of (0 2 0) and (0 4 0) indexed planes indicating a preferential arrangement. As Li-ion host anode, the 2D α–MoO3 nanostructure delivered high reversible specific discharge capacity of ~540 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C-rate with 99.9% coulombic efficiency as well as 63% capacity retention after 200 charge-discharge cycles. An excellent reversible Li-ion storage performance (high capacity, longer cycle life and good rate capability) was attributed to the 2D α–MoO3 arrangement consists of MoO6 octahedron by corner sharing chains. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Centre for Nanotechnology Research

Vellore Campus

World University root node

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

Reversible, stable Li-ion storage in 2 D single crystal orthorhombic α–MoO3 anodes

MXenes, a new family of 2-dimensional materials extends its potential in various applications. The present work reports a detailed study on the synthesis, properties and electrochemical performance of Vanadium carbide (V4C3) MXene as a supercapacitor electrode. The Vanadium carbide MXene was synthesised by etching intermediate “A-Aluminium” layer form the parental MAX phase precursor vanadium aluminium carbide using HF etching. The synthesised MXene materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) for phase identification and structural confirmation; FE-SEM and TEM for the morphological analysis. TGA was employed to understand the thermal behaviour and stability of the sample. The results revealed that the synthesised samples are in layered structure. XRD shows a shift in peaks attributing to the aluminium etching processes which was also supported by TEM as increase in the d-spacing. Furthermore, the MXene electrodes were prepared and tested for its electrochemical behaviour towards supercapacitor electrodes by using techniques like cyclic voltammetry, chrono potentiometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy proving as a potential electrode material for electrochemical energy storage application. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.

Ceramics International

Synthesis, properties and performance evaluation of vanadium carbide MXene as supercapacitor electrodes

The cult MAX phases and MXenes has been a point of an attractive new family of 2D materials for diverse applications. In the present work, titanium carbide MXene sheets have been prepared by etching aluminium from titanium aluminium carbide MAX phase. The sample was investigated by X-Ray diffraction, FESEM, TEM and RAMAN analysis. XRD analysis revealed that the synthesized MXenes were formed in hexagonal crystal system and FE-SEM analysis showed that titanium carbide sheets were exfoliated. Raman analysis showed that the lower modes, which correspond to the “A” phase, disappeared due to the removal of aluminium. The electrochemical performance of the synthesized MXenes towards supercapacitor applications was further investigated using various electrochemical techniques like cyclic voltammetry (CV), charge-discharge and impedance analysis. Results showed that the new material showed an excellent performance in charge storage applications. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.