Growth of nanotubes in sol-gel derived V2O5 powders and films prepared under acidic conditions

The structural evolution with temperature of some V2O5 gels and thin films is presented, and the role of the hydrolysis conditions is investigated. Several techniques, i.e., x-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, infrared, and temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy, have been used to follow the thermal behavior of the samples. When the bulk xerogels begin to change from a nanocrystalline phase to the orthorhombic α-V2O5, in the temperature range 280 to 300 °C, a growth of vanadium oxide nanotubes also occurs, while at higher temperatures the crystallization into the α phase prevails. A slightly different evolution is observed for heat treated thin films, which show a structure containing polyvanadate chains near room temperature. They also present a growth of nanotubes for intermediate temperatures and a complete crystallization into the α phase when the temperature is further increased. © 2009 Materials Research Society.