Electrochemical properties of opal-V6O13 composites

Abstract Vanadium oxides were hydrothermally grown on opal glass substrates at 95 °C. The deposition period was observed to affect the structure of the oxides and the voids filling of the opal surfaces. V 6 O 13 grown on opal for 50 h presented satisfactory electrochemical performance and electrochromic response with a contrast ratio of 2. The specific capacitance of this composite reached a value of 192 F g −1 , which was stable up to 500 continuous charge intercalation/deintercalation scans. The importance of achieving crystalline V 6 O 13 and high opal surface coverage towards the enhancement of the electrochemical properties is presented.