Crystallizing Vanadium Pentoxide Nanostructures in the Solid‐State Using Modified Block Copolymer and Chitosan Complexes

Abstract

A systematic study of the synthesis of V 2 O 5 nanostructured materials using macromolecular PS‐ co ‐4‐PVP·(VCl 3 ) y and chitosan·(VCl 3 ) y complexes is presented. It is demonstrated that various coordination degrees of the metal into the polymeric chain specifically influence the product formation after pyrolysis. PS‐ co ‐4‐PVP·(VCl 3 ) y and chitosan·(VCl 3 ) y complexes were prepared by simple coordination reaction of VCl 3 with the respective polymer in molar ratios 1 : 1, 1 : 5, and 1 : 10 metal/polymer and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, and TGA/DSC analysis. Solid‐state thermolysis of these precursors at several temperatures under air results in nanostructured V 2 O 5 using all precursors. The size and shape of the nanostructured V 2 O 5 depend on the nature of the polymer. For the chitosan·(VCl 3 ) y precursors sub‐10 nm nanocrystals are formed. The calcination process, involved in the preparation method, produces V 2 O 5 with photoluminescence in the visible light region, suggesting the possible application in oxygen sensing devices.