Sol gel based synthesis and electrochemistry of magnesium vanadium oxide: A promising cathode material for secondary magnesium ion batteries

Magnesium-ion batteries are desirable due to the high environmental abundance and low cost of magnesium metal. Preparation, characterization, and an initial electrochemical study of Mg_0.1 V₂O₅ prepared by a novel sol gel method with no high temperature post processing is presented. Cyclic voltammetry showed the material to be quasi-reversible, with improved kinetics in an acetonitrile relative to a carbonate based electrolyte. Galvanostatic test data under a C/10 discharge showed a delivered capacity >250 mAh/g over several cycles. Projecting these results to a magnesium anode battery would yield an average operating voltage ∼3.2 V with an energy density ∼800 mWh/g for the cathode material, suggesting promise of our synthesized material as a viable cathode material for secondary magnesium batteries.