Self-assembled single crystal VO2 (A) microbelts by the reduction of V2O5 thin films: synthesis, structure and optical properties

Abstract

In this work, single crystal VO2 (A) microbelts (MBs) were synthesized for the first time via the reduction of V2O5 thin films without a catalyst and without a hydrothermal process. The morphology and microstructure of the as-prepared VO2 (A) MRs was characterized by SEM, fluorescence mapping, Raman, XRD, XPS and FTIR. Results show that the as-prepared VO2 (A) MBs exhibit belt-like morphology with a rectangular cross section. The formation mechanism was proposed as melting of V2O5 thin film, VO2 nucleation in V2O5 droplets, VO2 growth. Light scattering measurements were carried out at varying sample temperatures. The results found that the as-prepared VO2 (A) MBs exhibit optical switching properties at a high temperature around 170 ℃, which is promising for designing thermally stable optical switching devices.