ELECTROCHEMICAL LITHIUM INTERCALATION INTO A POLYANILINE V2O5 NANOCOMPOSITE/

A nanocomposite comprised of conductive poly(aniline) chains interleav ed between the layers of set-gel derived V2O5 displays desirable prope rties as a positive electrode in a Li battery. The reversible capacity of [PANI]yV2O5 (after mild oxygen treatment) is higher than the V2O5 xerogel at intermediate discharge/charge rates at constant current. Li insertion is completely reversible in this modified hybrid material e ven after deep reduction to 3Li per formula unit, whereas the increase d cell polarization exhibited for the xerogel in the same discharge st ate leads to partial irreversibility. Relaxation studies (GITT) demons trate that Li diffusion is more rapid in the polymer nanocomposite for x(Li) < 2.0. The effect of the conductive polymer is to facilitate th e insertion/deinsertion of the lithium ions between the layers.