Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of vanadium oxide/titanate composite nanorods

Vanadium oxide/titanate composites nanorods (VOx/titanate-CNRs) were synthesized with a high yield by using titanate nanotubes as templates and V2O5·nH2O sol as precursor under hydrothermal conditions (200 °C, 48 h). Samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive analysis. The new phase has the composition V3O7·H2O and crystallizes with orthorhombic symmetry. The samples are uniform straight rods with 100–300 nm in diameter and more than 10 μm in length. The initial electrochemical capacitance behavior of VOx/titanate-CNRs is better than that of pure V2O5.