Issue 12, 2019

Vanadium(V) oxide clusters synthesized by sublimation from bulk under fully inert conditions

Abstract

Oxide nanoparticles in the size range of a few nanometers are typically synthesized in solution or via laser ablation techniques, which open numerous channels for structural change via chemical reactions or fragmentation processes. In this work, neutral vanadium oxide nanoparticles are instead synthesized by sublimation from bulk in combination with a pickup by superfluid helium droplets. Mass spectroscopy measurements clearly demonstrate the preservation of the bulk stoichiometric ratio of vanadium to oxygen in He-grown nanoparticles, indicating a tendency towards tetrahedral coordination of the vanadium centers in finite geometries. This unexpected finding opens up new possibilities for a combined on-the-fly synthesis of nanoparticles consisting of metal and metal-oxide layers. In comparison to mass spectra obtained via direct ionization of vanadium oxide in an effusive beam, where strong fragmentation occurred, we observe a clear preference for (V2O5)n oligomers with even n inside the He nanodroplets, which is further investigated and explained using the electronic structure theory.

Graphical abstract: Vanadium(V) oxide clusters synthesized by sublimation from bulk under fully inert conditions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
20 Dec 2018
Accepted
23 Feb 2019
First published
25 Feb 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 3473-3480

Vanadium(V) oxide clusters synthesized by sublimation from bulk under fully inert conditions

M. Lasserus, M. Schnedlitz, R. Messner, F. Lackner, W. E. Ernst and A. W. Hauser, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 3473 DOI: 10.1039/C8SC05699D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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