Hydrothermal synthesis of V O2(B) nanoribbons by a mixed-oxidation state precursor route

Highly crystalline metastable phase V O2(B) nanoribbons were fabricated on a large scale by hydrothermally treating a mixed-oxidation state vanadium (IV,V) precursor in PEG-600 aqueous solution. The nanoribbons were uniform along the longitudinal direction with a length up to several micrometers, width in the range 50–100 nm, and thickness about 10 nm, respectively. The growth process of nanoribbons and the factors influencing the morphology were also studied in detail. This novel precursor route provided a promising method with less reaction time and mild neutral aqueous environment, and the precursor could be potentially used in the fabrication of other nanostructured vanadium compounds.