Synthesis of oxide nanoparticles via microwave plasma decomposition of initial materials

Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) and zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were synthesized by making use of an atmospheric microwave plasma torch. Zn granules for ZnO and vanadium oxytrichloride (VOCl3) in liquid for V2O5 were used as initial materials. A sample for V2O5 consisted of nano- and micro-structured particles aligned with the plasma reactor structure. A sample for ZnO was typical nanorods with 100–200 nm in length. The V2O5 and ZnO samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, and TEM.