Facile synthesis of vanadium-pentoxide nanoparticles and study on their electrochemical, photocatalytic properties

Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅ ) nanoparticles were synthesized via an anionic, cationic and non-ionic surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by using powder X-ray diffractometer, Scanning Electron Microscope, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The experimental results confirm the formation of vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles. Vanadium pentoxide crystalline nanoparticles were prepared from various surfactants named Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS), Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) and Triton-X, resulting the crystallite size of 61.6 nm, 27.5 nm and 46 nm respectively. From the electrochemical studies, it is found that vanadium pentoxide prepared with CTAB exhibit good cycle stability when compared with other two samples. Also the ionic-conducting behavior of the materials was investigated by using impedance analysis. In addition, the photocatalytic studies were performed and found better photocatalytic efficiency in V₂O₅ prepared with SDS, obtained through the degradation of MO dye under UV light irradiation. Our results show that Vanadium pentoxide can be a suitable candidate for photocatalytic application and as electrode in development of futuristic supercapacitors. Also this can be employed in various environmental eco-friendly applications.