Vanadium Oxide Nanotubes with Diamine Templates

ABSTRACTDiamine vanadium oxide nanotubes (DA-VOx-NTs) have been prepared in high yields applying two different synthesis routes, namely either a sol-gel reaction followed by a hydrothermal treatment or an exchange reaction. The first route is analogous to the well-known preparation of VOx-NTs containing monoamines: a vanadium(V) alkoxide is mixed with an α, ω- diamine (H2N[CH2]nNH2 with 12≤n≤20), the resulting adduct is hydrolyzed, and, after aging, a hydrothermal treatment leads to the nanotubes in pure form. The exchange of the monoamine template in VOx-NTs against diamines represents an alternative access to DA-VOx-NTs. This reaction occurs readily and is also applicable for diamines with short CH 2 chains like, e.g., in ethylene diamine. The TEM characterization of the DA-VOx-NTs confirms the tubular morphology which is widely preserved in the products of the exchange reactions. The characteristic feature of as-synthesized DA-VOx-NTs is a thick tube wall with many VO, layers while the exchange products are tubes comprising thin walls or bent packs of layers.