Synthesis and optical properties of V2O5 nanorods

A two-step method was proposed in synthesizing V2O5 nanorods on planar substrates, i.e., depositing a V2O3 thin film at approximately 220 degrees C (by heating a pure sheet of vanadium in a rough vacuum) and then heating it in air at approximately 400 degrees C. The V2O5 nanorods produced by this technique are single crystalline and could emit intense visible light at room temperature, possibly due to some defects such as oxygen vacancies which got involved during growth. This study provides a simple and low-substrate-temperature route in fabricating V2O5 nanorods on planar substrates, which might be also applicable to other metal oxides.