In-situ coating polypyrrole on charged BiVO4 nanowire arrays to improve lithium-ion storage properties.

BiVO 4 nanowire array is fabricated by a hydrothermal method, and the nanowire array and a lithium foil are used as working and counter electrodes, respectively, to assemble a lithium-ion battery. After charging to 4 V, the BiVO 4 nanowire array has a strong oxidizing property. The pyrrole can be in-situ polymerized on the surface of the charged BiVO 4 nanowire array to form a polypyrrole coating layer in pyrrole solution. The morphology and structure properties of the samples are characterized and analyzed in detail. The lithium storage performances of the samples are also measured and compared. The obtained BiVO 4 -PPy nanowires have stable cycle performance and a discharge capacity of more than 400 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles. This work provides a new method for synthesizing conductive polymers on charged electrodes. • A novel in-situ coating polypyrrole (PPy) on charged BiVO 4 nanowires method is used to improve the cycle performance of the electrode. • The obtained BiVO 4 -PPy nanowires have a capacity of more than 400 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 50 cycles in 1–4 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]