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

Abstract

A systematic study of the synthesis of V2O5nanostructured materials using macromolecular PS-co-4-PVP·(VCl3)yand chitosan·(VCl3)ycomplexes 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·(VCl3)yand chitosan·(VCl3)ycomplexes were prepared by simple coordination reaction of VCl3with 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 V2O5using all precursors. The size and shape of the nanostructured V2O5depend on the nature of the polymer. For the chitosan·(VCl3)yprecursors sub-10 nm nanocrystals are formed. The calcination process, involved in the preparation method, produces V2O5with photoluminescence in the visible light region, suggesting the possible application in oxygen sensing devices.