Engineering Vanadium Pentoxide Cathode for the Zero-Strain Cation Storage via a Scalable Intercalation-Polymerization Approach

The layered V₂O₅ cathode exhibits appealing features of multiple electron redox processes and versatile cation-storage capacities. However, the huge volume respiration induces structural collapse and limits its commercial-scale deployment. Herein, a scalable water-bath strategy is developed to tailor the (001) spacing of the bulk V₂O₅ from the original 4.37 Å to its triple value (14.2 Å). The intercalated polyaniline (PANI) molecules act as pillars in the V₂O₅ interlayer, thus affording the abundant storage sites and enhanced cation diffusivities of Li⁺, Na⁺, or hydrated Zn²⁺. Upon various cations (de-)intercalation, transmission-mode operando X-ray diffraction is employed to document the zero-strain behavior of the PANI-intercalated V₂O₅. This scalable intercalation-polymerization strategy, coupled with the compatibility study of the ionic radius and the c-lattice for the layered structure, enables the rational engineering of the intercalation-type cathodes toward facile reaction kinetics.