17O nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the structural evolution of vanadium pentaoxide gels

Abstract

Recent studies of the synthesis of V₂O₅ gels by acidifying metavanadate salt solutions suggest that VO₂⁺ polymerizes into chains of vanadate octahedra. In this study we characterize the growth of vanadate polymers by both solution and magic angle spinning ¹⁷O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The spectra are consistent with the formation of a chain polymer with a repeat unit of VO₂(OH)(OH₂)₂. The ¹⁷O NMR spectra also suggest that the chains might connect to each other by hydrogen bonding.