Modulation, Characterization, and Engineering of Advanced Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications: MoO₃/V₂O₅ Bilayer Model System

Core-shell, multilayered and coated materials have great importance to electrochemical energy storage systems, sensors, actuators, photonics, and photoactive applications. A deeper understanding of the effect of combining different materials in complex structures on their physical and electrochemical properties is vital for better engineering of such compounds and wise modulation of their physical characteristics. Herein we proposed a model system of thin film MoO₃/V₂O₅ bilayer systems. The crystallinity, texture, and morphology of each layer in the bilayer structures were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electrochemical properties were studied via slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry (SSCV) in lithium ions containing solution. The study clearly shows that the physical and electrochemical properties of each layer in a bilayer configuration are not similar to the properties of the single material. Therefore, at least for bilayer materials, the whole structure properties are more complex than simply combining the properties of the individual materials.