Chemically controlled hydrothermal syntheses of vanadium oxides

Abstract The hydrothermal synthesis of vanadium oxides leads to a wide range of structures ranging from clusters to layered polyvanadates. The nature of the molecular precursors mainly depends on the pH of the solution, but the way these precursors condense to give a solid phase depends on the presence of foreign species in the solution. Layered materials built of negatively charged vanadium oxide layers are formed in the presence of inorganic or organic cations. Hollow clusters are formed around inorganic anions that appear to behave as templates.