Hydrothermal synthesis of hydrated vanadium oxide nanobelts using poly (ethylene oxide) as a template

With the aim of obtaining nanodevices as batteries, sensors and fuel cells, we prepared V2O5 and V3O7·H2O nanobelts by a simple hydrothermal process using poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a template. The yielding percentage of the nanomaterial is less in polymer-free V2O5 nanobelts and material size is also big. It is apparent that PEO used V3O7·H2O form a continuous and relatively homogeneous matrix with a clearly 1–5 μm long and 50–150 nm diameter nanobelts morphology. The SEM micrographs suggest that there is no bulk deposition of polymer on the surface of the nano-crystallites. Strong interaction between the vanadyl group and the polymer during the formation process has been identified by the shifts of the vanadyl vibration peaks. The CV curve of the electrode made of the V3O7·H2O nanobelts have higher current densities than the CV curve of the electrode made of V2O5 nanobelts.