Carbon nanotube-mediated three-dimensional vanadium oxide nanoarchitectures with tunable morphology and translatable functionality

A carbon nanotube (CNT)-mediated three-dimensional (3D) vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanoarchitecture with tunable morphology and translatable electrical and electrochemical functionality is developed via the step-wise chemical vapor deposition. Controlling the pressure, gas flow, and growth time, based on the collective understanding of the vapor-solid growth mechanism, enables the tailoring of V₂O₅ nanostructures into diverse functional structures including nanowires, nanoribbons, and nanoplatelets, where the nanoscale topography of an underlying CNT surface facilitates the conformal 3D morphing with extended scale, density, and surface area. An in-depth analysis of the V₂O₅-CNT interface confirms that the highly crystalline V₂O₅ nanocrystals are firmly connected to the CNTs with their structural and functional characteristics maintained. Here we demonstrate that the growth process and consequently emerging functionality of the 3D V₂O₅/CNT hybrid architecture can be translated to various practical frameworks such as porous metallic micromesh with further enhanced surface area and electrochemical conversion. The 3D V₂O₅/CNT hybrid architecture with application-specific structural tunability may thus be applicable to broader materials and device systems for energy conversion, sensing, photonics, and many others.