NASICON-type vanadium-based cathodes have received significant
attention due to the higher stability and theoretical capacity associated
with polyanionic groups and vanadium redox-chemistry. However, improvements
in structural stability and electronic conductivity to enhance the
electrochemical performance are still a hot topic of research. In
the present work, intrinsic modification in the vanadium site of Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) by dual-doping
was investigated. The effect of dual-doping by isovalent Cr3+ and aliovalent Mg2+ ions in the vanadium site as Na3V2–x–y
Cr
x
Mg
y
(PO4)3 (varying x and y = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15) was investigated. Among all
the concentrations of doping, a concentration of 0.1 for both Cr and
Mg showed a positive impact in capacity and rate performance as well
as cycling compared to undoped and other doping conditions. The dual-doping
significantly influences the particle size reduction, local lattice
distortion, and populates higher valent V ions on the surface. These
aspects synergistically help in reducing diffusion length, faster
sodiation, and improved structural stability. Compared to the undoped
and single-ion-doped NVP samples, the dual-doped NVP performed well.
Dual-doped NVP exhibited 100 mA h/g at 25 mA/g and at 100 mA/g, 88%
retention after 100 cycles. At the same time, at 250 mA/g, a specific
capacity of 81.6 mA h/g for dual-doped NVP and a lower capacity of
only 62.3 mA h/g for undoped NVP were recorded. Galvanostatic intermittent
titration studies were also conducted to evaluate the kinetics. To
establish the electrochemical performance of dual-doped NVP at different
temperatures, electrochemical investigations were carried out at −10
°C and at 55 °C for comparison of its performance at 25
°C.