Metal site determination in doped V 2O 5 arg-like cathodes for lithium battery

Vanadium pentoxide materials prepared through sol-gel processes (xerogel, aerogel and aerogel-like) act as excellent intercalation hosts for lithium or polyvalent cations. Important characteristics are retained when the material is modified by reaction with a selected amount of dopant metal (copper, nickel, zinc, aluminum). The electrochemical performance of the materials has been found to be excellent. X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) has been used to probe the local structure of the selected atom sites. The strategy in determining the local structure will be discussed both for pristine and doped materials. The doped samples have been analyzed at the vanadium K-edge as well as at the dopant metal K-edge. The presence of two metals gives two independent absorption signals, even if we are investigating the same compound, for this reason the reliability of the analysis is enhanced.