Nanoparticles of Low-Valence Vanadium Oxyhydroxides: Reaction Mechanisms and Polymorphism Control by Low-Temperature Aqueous Chemistry

An aqueous synthetic route at 95 degrees C is developed to reach selectively three scarcely reported vanadium oxyhydroxides. Haggite V2O3(OH)(2), Duttonite VO(OH)(2), and Gain's hydrate V2O4(H2O)(2) are obtained as nanowires, nanorods, and nanoribbons, with sizes 1 order of magnitude smaller than previously reported. Xray absorption spectroscopy provides evidence that vanadium in these phases is V+iV. Combined with FTIR, XRD, and electron microscopy, it yields the first insights into formation mechanisms, especially for Haggite and Gain's hydrate. This study opens the way for further investigations of the properties of novel V+(IV) (oxyhydr)oxides nanostructures.