Electrochemical lithium insertion into amorphous MoO3·2H2O

Abstract Following the route of synthesis of β-MoO 3 through soft chemistry methods a new amorphous material with composition MoO 3 ·2H 2 O has been detected. The hydrated molybdenum oxide showed the capacity for electrochemical lithium insertion. The maximum amount of lithium incorporated in this material (∼3.3 Li/Mo) leads to a specific capacity of 490 Ah kg −1 . The charge–discharge curve showed a good reversibility in the potential range from 3.2 to 1.1 V versus Li + /Li 0 where the cell voltage decreased monotonously as a function of the degree of lithium inserted. The electrochemical features of amorphous MoO 3 ·2H 2 O suggest that it can be considered as a possible cathode candidate in rechargeable lithium batteries.