Electrochemical properties of high surface area vanadium oxide aerogels

This article explores the effects of surface area and pore volume on the el ectrochemical behavior of high surface area V2O5 gels dried by either super critical or ambient methods. Traditional composite electrode structures hav e prevented truly quantitative analysis of surface area effects in nanoscal e battery materials, as well as a study of their innate electrochemical beh avior. These limitations can be overcome by using the "sticky-carbon" elect rode technique, which provides a direct electroanalysis of the active mater ial without the use of a composite electrode structure. The resulting elect rochemical measurements show pseudocapacitive behavior (1000-2000 F/g) that has not previously been seen for V2O5 aerogels. The relationship between c apacitance and pore accessibility is investigated. (C) 2000 The Electrochem ical Society. S1099-0062(00)03-144-8. All rights reserved.