Facile synthesis and phase transition of V2O3 nanobelts

Abstract

The controlled synthesis of high quality one-dimensional V₂O₃ materials is critical for addressing the fundamental aspects of metal–insulator transition (MIT) in these materials. Here we developed a controllable approach for synthesizing pristine V₂O₃ nanobelts by reducing hydrothermally synthesized V₂O₅ nanobelts in the gas phase. The obtained V₂O₃ nanobelts showed high crystallinity and purity with length up to tens of micrometers. We investigated the changes in electrical conductance, magnetic susceptibility and Raman spectra that accompanied the phase transition of nanobelts with variable-temperature measurements. The MIT behaviour of V₂O₃ nanobelts was very similar to that of the bulk materials while the magnetic phase transition of V₂O₃ was suppressed in the nanobelts due to the finite size effect. This simple and reliable synthesis approach makes the V₂O₃ nanobelts easily accessible for exploring their fundamental properties and potential applications in novel electronic devices.